Michigan State women’s golf wrapped up one of their most successful seasons with an 18th-place finish in the NCAA Championships. The Spartans were just six strokes from advancing to the final round of stroke play and fell just short of the top-15 finish they needed. Despite this, MSU showed resilience in their final round, closing out the season on the par 72 course at the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California.
The Spartans went into the third round on Sunday, May 18 in 20th place with a 15-over-par score. After a challenging first nine holes on Sunday, MSU slipped further out of contention, dropping to 23rd place after putting up an 8-over par score and pushing them to be 10 shots away from the cut-off.
The team's competitive spirit came through on the second nine holes as they moved up the scoreboard with seniors Brooke Biermann and Katie Lu on a surge to cut the deficit. Lu and Biermann both had birdies on the first hole, which built momentum for a team run as MSU then played the first six holes of their final nine in 7-under par, placing them just four shots from the cutoff.
The Spartans ended the final nine by posting their best round of the weekend with a scorecard of 3-over par, finishing with 24-over par to end the three rounds. However, it wasn’t enough to crack the top 15, as UCLA and Mississippi State were the last to advance, both tied for 14th at 18-over par.
Stanford dominantly led the field in first place with a 23-under-par score. Northwestern followed behind posting a 8-under par at the end of three rounds and Oregon finished at 2-under in third place. The top five was rounded out by Southern California at an even par and Florida State at 3-over par.
Katie Lu wrapped up her collegiate career as a top finisher for MSU, tying for 45th place overall at 5-over par. Lu had an outstanding individual performance, shooting 1-under in the final round with four birdies. This performance put Lu just one shot shy of the individual cut to advance to Monday’s final round of stroke play.
Lu has advanced to the fourth round of the NCAA Championships twice and, despite not making the cut-off this year, she will leave Michigan State ranked fourth in all-time scoring average.
Junior Paula Balanztegui also delivered an impressive showing and ended the three rounds tied for 63rd place at 7-over par. Balanztegui highlighted her consistency in play with a 3-over par final round, now tying herself up for 10th in the field with 40 pars throughout the 54 holes.
Senior Brooke Biermann and sophomore Ana Sofia Murcia ended up tied for 76th place at 8-over par. Murcia shot a 1-over on Sunday, tallying two birdies within the round to finish strong.
Biermann shot an even-par in the final round, with four birdies coming from the back nine. She will leave East Lansing as third in all-time scoring, holding onto three of the top-20 single-season marks in program history.
Junior Taylor Kehoe rounded out the lineup finishing in 91st place at 10-over par after a difficult 5-over round on Sunday.
Although the Spartans were shy of the fourth round in the NCAA Championship, their 2025 season will be remembered for the many successors it had, including a runner-up finish in the Big Ten Championships and a third-place finish in the NCAA Norman Regional.
The Spartans advanced to the NCAA Championships for the fourth time in the last five years, the 17th time in program history, and the 15th time under head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll. Their 18th-place finish marks the third consecutive year MSU has ended in the NCAA Championships inside the top 20 and the fourth in five years, speaking to their level of consistency and composure at the national level.
Don't miss out on any of our exclusive football, basketball, hockey, and recruiting coverage, not to mention our non-revenue sports coverage and subscriber exclusive forum. Sign up with Spartans Illustrated now!
- QB
- TE
- EDGE
- DE
- OT
- OT
- CB
- LB
- DE
- S
