April 29, 2008

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Three members of the Michigan State women's golf team were named to the All-Big Ten teams, announced on Monday by the conference office. Senior Sara Brown and sophomore Laura Kueny were selected to the first team, while freshman Aimee Neff garnered second-team honors and was MSU's sportsmanship nominee.

It is the third-straight season that Brown has been named to the first team, while Kueny and Neff both earn recognition for the first time.

The Spartans have had 37 selections to the All-Big Ten teams since the conference adopted the sport in 1982. It marks the 10th-straight season for MSU with an All-Big Ten selection and is the seventh time that three Spartans were honored. In addition, it is the first time since the conference began selecting two separate teams (2003), that two student-athletes were honored on the first team.

Joining Brown and Kueny on the first team were four Boilermakers, including Big Ten Player of the Year Maria Hernandez, Big Ten Freshman of the Year Maude Aimee-Leblanc, Christina Boeljon and Junthima Gulyamamitta. Aside from Neff, the second team featured Illinois' Seul Ki Park, Indiana's Anita Gahir, and the Ohio State trio of Carling Coffing, Emma Jandel and Gemma Webster. Purdue's Devon Brouse was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year.

The Spartans recently placed second at the Big Ten Championships and earned an at-large berth to the NCAA West Regional, to be held on May 8-10 at Lincoln Hills Golf Club in Lincoln, Calif. MSU, currently ranked No. 17 by Golfweek/Sagarin, now have seven top-three finishes in 10 events this season. Also, the Spartans' three team titles is tied for second in the nation and is the most in a season since the 2001-02 campaign.