East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's women's golf team opens the second half of the 2022-23 season this weekend at the UCF Challenge at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando, Fla.

The tournament will be played on the par-72, 6,349-yard course in Orlando. The tournament begins on Sunday, Feb. 5 with an 8:45 a.m. shotgun start and each team will play 18 holes through Tuesday, Feb. 7. Michgian State opens the first round paired up with Kentucky and Northwestern.

THE LINEUP
1. Valentina Rossi
2. Brooke Biermann
3. Leila Raines
4. Katie Lu
5. Shannon Kennedy
IND. Paula Balanzategui
 
THE UCF CHALLENGE FIELD
The 17-team field in this year's edition of the UCF Challenge includes No. 2 Wake Forest, No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 11 Mississippi State, No. 20 Kent State, No. 23 Iowa State, UCF, Virginia Tech, Old Dominion, College of Charleston, Penn State, Miami, Kentucky, Michigan State, North Texas, North Florida, Northwestern and Kansas.

LIVE SCORING
Golfstat.
 
ABOUT THE SPARTANS
The Spartans are coming off a Fall 2022 campaign that saw the team post a pair of top-five finishes in five events, closing out the schedule with a tied for sixth place among 18 teams at The Landfall Tradition.
 
The lineup for the Spartans, for the first time in four years, will not include Valery Plata, a three-time All-Big Ten honoree and the 2020 Big Ten Player of the Year. Plata, who won the Women's Amateur Latin America in 2021, earned her card on the LPGA Tour after an outstanding performance at Q-School.
 
Michigan State, ranked No. 43 in the country by GolfStat, was led by junior Valentina Rossi, who played in four events (12 rounds) and led the team with a 72.42 scoring average. Her best finish was a tie for 13th place at The Landfall Tradition. Rossi became the second-straight Spartan to win the Women's Amateur Latin America in the Fall and received an exemption to three LPGA events during the Spring.
 
Sophomore Brooke Biermann was one of two players who appeared in all five tournaments during the Fall, posting a 73.40 stroke average in 15 rounds. Biermann's best finish was a tie for 10th place at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship, firing a 4-under par 209. She was team's top finisher in two events, including the Windy City Classic.
 
Junior Leila Raines, who qualified for the 2022 NCAA Championship as an individual last year, played in only two events during the Fall, carrying a 74.33 scoring average.
 
UCF CHALLENGE HISTORY
This will mark the fifth consecutive season the Spartans will compete in the UCF Challenge. Last year, MSU placed sixth in the field. In 2020, the Spartans had one of their best outings the 2020 season at the UCF Challenge as MSU took second place as a team, while Yurika Tanida tied for second place with a 7-under par 209. As a team, the Spartans shot 15-under par 849, which was the third-lowest total in program history.