Sophomore Shannon Warner showcased her skills with a final round 71 and an even-par 216 (72-73-71) to lead the Spartans. She also had a crucial birdie on the 17th hole, boosting the home team’s advantage down the stretch.

“I played well,” Warner said. “I struck the ball well. I had a couple of errors here and there, but I thought I did pretty well. I feel like I didn’t do really well today; I had a three-putt on 15, but I’m sure I was nervous. Who wouldn’t be?”

Senior Laura Kueny, who has finished first overall for the Spartans in the last three years of the tournament, took ninth place, shooting a three-over-par 219 for the weekend.

“The home team always has the advantage,” Kueny said. “But my putting went really well and that actually saved me a lot on the course today.”

The issue for now is in MSU coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll setting the lineup for the team’s upcoming tournaments, including the Lady Northern Invitational in Madison, Wisc., at the end of the month.

“What’s going to come next is figuring out who’s going to be in the lineup, which is going to be a problem,” Slobodnik-Stoll said. “I think we’re going to have it come around every tournament this year because we have so many good players. It’s really looking at who shot what and what positions we’re in and determining who’s going to be exempt and who’s going to be qualifying.”

Slobodnik-Stoll said she can take six players to Madison for the upcoming tournament, but typically only five to other invitationals.

Fossum, the first and only other head coach at MSU before Slobodnik-Stoll, led the Spartans to five consecutive Big Ten titles from 1974-78. She also was inducted into the NGCA Golf Coaches Hall of Fame in 1998, the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame in 2002 and MSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003.

Having attended the invitational named for her each year since its inception, she’s followed the Spartans closely since she left the program. Fossum said she still offers the players and Slobodnik-Stoll advice and encouragement as often as she can.

“Try as hard as you can,” Fossum said of her favorite words of wisdom. “Stay as nice as you are, and enjoy life in whatever you are doing, whether it’s playing golf or something else, just always try as hard as you can.”

With just the Lady Northern Invitational, the Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C., remaining before the NCAA Preview in October, Warner said a win over a quality opponent such as Purdue will go a long way.

“It feels good,” she said. “Purdue’s a good team. They don’t even have their best player, if you ask me. I’m sure they’re going to be strong this year, but I think we will be, too.”