May 1, 2010
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Notre Dame senior golfer Annie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep), sophomore Becca Huffer (Denver, Colo./Littleton) and junior Katie Conway (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) have been named to the 2010 All-BIG EAST Women’s Golf Team it was announced by the conference on Friday evening. Brophy and Huffer have the added distinction of being two of the six unanimous selections to the 12-person team.
For Brophy, it marked her fourth selection to the All-BIG EAST team and she is now just the second player in program history to earn All-BIG EAST accolades four times, joining Noriko Nakazaki, a 2007 graduate, in that exclusive club. Huffer could be on pace to join Brophy and Nakazaki in that club as well, having now earned All-BIG EAST honors in her first two seasons with the Irish. 2010 marks Conway’s first All-BIG EAST honor. All told, 12 Irish players have combined for 26 All-BIG EAST honors since 2003.
Prior to last season, the BIG EAST honored an All-Tournament team based on top-10 finishes at the conference championship tournament, but the format was switched to an All-BIG EAST team for the 2009 season. The league’s coaches now vote for the Player of the Year, the Freshman of the Year and the Coach of the year, as well as for the All-BIG EAST Team. Louisville’s Sara-Maude Juneau was a unanimous selection as the 2010 Player of the Year, while USF’s Shena Yang was a unanimous selection as the conference’s Freshman of the Year. The Bulls also saw Marci Kornegay earn BIG EAST Coach of the Year honors.
Brophy is coming off a runner-up performance at the 2010 BIG EAST Championship. She carded a 10-over par 226 at the event that included an even-par 72 in the second round. For the season, Brophy ranks second on the team with a 74.89 stroke average. She played in all 10 of Notre Dame’s 2009-10 tournaments and 26 of her 27 rounds were counted towards Notre Dame’s team score. She notched two under par rounds and three even par rounds on the season.
Aside from her second place finish at the BIG EAST Championship, Brophy’s other top-10 finishes came when she tied for medalist honors at the Alamo Invitational and when she finished tied for sixth at the Windy City Collegiate. Brophy earned co-medalist honors at the Alamo Invitational after firing a two-under par 70 in the only round of play at the rain-shortened event which was contested at the Briggs Ranch Country Club. The win marked the second of Brophy’s Irish career, with her other triumph coming at the 2008 BIG EAST tournament.
A year removed from being named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, Huffer earned her second consecutive All-BIG EAST honor to become the seventh player in program history to be named to the All-BIG EAST team more than once. As a sophomore, Huffer led the team with a 74.67 stroke average and she was the only player to see all 27 of her rounds counted towards Notre Dame’s team scores. For her career, Huffer has now had 58 of a possible 60 rounds counted for team scoring purposes.
Huffer tied for seventh at the 2010 BIG EAST Championship as she finished at 18-over par (234). In ten events, Huffer finished outside the top-20 only once. She also opened the season with a stretch of seven consecutive top-15 showings. Her best showing came at the Windy City Collegiate when she finished fifth after turning in an even-par performance (216).
Conway earned her first career All-BIG EAST honor after putting together a season that included starting all ten of Notre Dame’s tournaments. She carries a 77.93 stroke average into NCAA play, the third best mark on the team. Her best finish of the year came when she tied for 13th at the Alamo Invitational after shooting a two-over par 74 at the rain-shortened event. Conway also matched the lowest round of her Irish career when she carded an opening round 70 at the SunTrust Lady Gator Invitational. She finished tied for 25th at the 2010 BIG EAST Championship (+30/246).
Brophy, Huffer, Conway and the Irish will play in the NCAA Central Regional on May 6-8 in Columbus, Ind. at the Otter Creek Golf Club. With a top-eight finish at the Indiana University hosted event, the Irish would advance to the NCAA Finals for the first time in program history. To stay up-to-date on the Notre Dame women’s golf team as the NCAA tournament approaches, visit und.com.
2010 All-BIG EAST Women’s Golf Team
Laura Anderson, Louisville
Annie Brophy, Notre Dame *
Katie Conway, Notre Dame
Renee Cloutier, St. John’s
Bambee Dela Paz, Cincinnati
Rachel Edwards, USF *
Becca Huffer, Notre Dame *
Sara-Maude Juneau, Louisville *
Jenny Linville, Cincinnati
Anna-Karin Ljungstrom, Louisville
Daphne Parker, Louisville *
Shena Yang, USF *
Women’s Player of the Year
Sara-Maude Juneau, Louisville *
Women’s Freshman of the Year
Shena Yang, USF *
Women’s Coach of the Year
Marci Kornegay, USF
* – Denotes a unanimous selection
–ND–