MONROE, La. - ULM women's golf head coach
Stacy Snider is returning to her home state of Michigan and takes the Warhawks to the 2012 Mary Fossum Invitational held on the campus of Michigan State University this weekend. The first round tees off in a shotgun start Saturday morning at 9 a.m. local time (8 a.m. Central).
ULM joins future Sun Belt foe Texas State and Miami (Fla.) as the only schools in the field of 16 from south of the Ohio River. The field features four Big Ten foes in addition to the host Spartans.
ULM features a young but competitive line up, led by British import freshman Alison Knowles. Knowles has qualified for and won several tournaments in her native country. Freshman Valentine Loge, who won several junior titles in her native Belgium, will also see her first collegiate action this weekend.
The Spartans' Caroline Powers, ranked as one of the top-50 collegiate golfers, will be defending her title from last year's tournament. MSU is currently the reigning Big Ten women's golf champion.
ULM's Coach Snider placed 10th in the 2000 Mary Fossum Invitational as a member of the Spartans.
Live scoring will be provided by the Michigan State staff on golfstat.com.
ULM Lineup
1. Alison Knowles
2. Emily Stratton
3. Kathy Sterling
4. Valentine Loge
5. Ines Fendt
The Field
Bowling Green
Eastern Michigan
Ferris State (Division II)
Kent State
ULM
Miami (Fla.)
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Notre Dame
Oakland
Purdue
Texas State
Toledo
Western Michigan
Wisconsin
About the Course (From MSUSpartans.com):
Located on the picturesque campus of Michigan State University, Forest Akers West Golf Course is one of the premier golf courses in the region and ranks as one of the best collegiate facilities in the country. With its unique setting as an arboretum and challenging layout, the West Course earned a four-star rating from Golf Digest in 1999. In addition, The Detroit News selected Forest Akers as the No. 6 spot in the rankings of public golf courses in the state of Michigan and the past two years, the Lansing State Journal selected it as the "Best of the Best."
The land for the par-72 (36-36) course was donated by Michigan State alumnus Forest Akers of Detroit, with the provision that the course also serves as an arboretum. Most of Michigan's native trees and a wide variety of shrubs are grown throughout the course and are arranged to create a unique setting for the game of golf. Forest Akers may be the only course in the country recognized as an arboretum. Grand Rapids architect W. Bruce Matthews designed the original layout for Forest Akers West Course. The course underwent a $1-million renovation in 1992 by former Spartan golfer Arthur Hills of Arthur Hills and Associates.
