Sophomore Stacy Brown returns to her home state of Texas to take part in the NCAA Central Regional this Thursday through Saturday in Lubbock.

Fighting Irish Dominate In Winning St. Croix Collegiate Classic By 35 Strokes

March 13, 2005

ST. CROIX, Virgin Islands – The Notre Dame women’s golf team saved its best round for last as the team fired a 15-over par 303 to wrap up the St. Croix Collegiate Classic title on Sunday morning. The Fighting Irish, who shot a 307 and 309 during the first two rounds of play, cruised to victory as they defeated the host school Xavier by 35 shots with a 919 total. Sophomore Stacy Brown (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands) made it a clean sweep for the Irish as she registered her first-ever collegiate medalist finish by shooting a 12-over par 228 (75-79-74) throughout the three rounds of play at the par 72, 6,020-yard Carambola Golf Club.

Finishing one shot in back of Brown was her classmate Noriko Nakazaki (Hanover Park, Ill./Hoffman Estates), who carded the low round of the day for the Irish with a one-under par 71, to take home runner-up honors with a 229 (79-79-71). Freshman Jane Lee (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./Peninsula) began the day in first place before firing an 84 to finish with a 19-over par 235 (81-70-84). Her second round score of 70 was the top round of the tournament for Notre Dame.

“It felt good,” commented Brown about her tournament victory. “I never let one hole or one shot mess me up or get me down. I tried to stay in the present and not get flustered. I made some goals for myself and tried to be patient out on the golf course and it worked.”

Irish junior co-captain Katie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) could never quite get on track during the 54-holes of play as she carded a 79 on Sunday to end with a 236 (75-82-79). Fellow junior Lauren Gebauer (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) also tallied a 79 on the day to complete a 238 (78-81-79) total for the tournament.

“We had a lot of people make a lot of progress in this tournament,” stated Irish head coach Debby King, whose team collected its third team title of the 2004-05 season and the ninth of her Notre Dame tenure. “Jane (Lee), Stacy (Brown) and Noriko (Nakazaki) made some big steps. They had some periodic bad rounds but they had some good ones too. We knew that we were the favorites coming into this tournament so we set some personal goals. We wanted to shoot 304 or better each day but we missed that by a little bit.”

Five other Notre Dame golfers took to the course and competed as individual entrants during the three-day event. Senior Karen Lotta (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) led the group of five as she shot a 14-over par 230 (79-75-76). Junior co-captain Suzie Hayes (Dublin, Ireland/Loreto College) recovered well from a second round total of 82 to post a 75 on Sunday and finish with a 234 (77-82-75). Sarah Bassett (Spokane, Wash./Lewis and Clark) was one shot behind her classmate Hayes with a 235 (78-75-82). Freshman Alejandra Diaz-Calderon (Guadalajara, Mexico/American) registered a 242 (80-79-83) and senior Casey Rotella (Keswick, Va./Monticello) carded a 252 (85-86-81) to complete the field of Irish competitors.

Besides the Fighting Irish, the St. Croix Collegiate Classic field also included Barry University, Cincinnati, Eastern Kentucky, Marshall, Texas Pan-American, Wofford and the host school Xavier.

Due to technical problems at St. Croix, full results are not yet available on the internet, however they should be posted on the Xavier University athletics web site at athletics.xu.edu by Monday evening. For additional information log on to und.com or call the Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.

St. Croix Collegiate Classic (Carambola Golf Club – St. Croix, Virgin Islands, Par 72, 6,020-yards)

NOTRE DAME (Final 54-hole totals): 919 (307-309-303)

NOTRE DAME Scores (Final 54-hole totals):

(Scoring team): Stacy Brown 228 (75-79-74), Noriko Nakazaki 229 (79-79-71), Jane Lee 235 (81-70-84), Katie Brophy 236 (75-82-79), Lauren Gebauer 238 (78-81-79).

(Individuals): Karen Lotta 230 (79-75-76), Suzie Hayes 234 (77-82-75), Sarah Bassett 235 (78-75-82), Alejandra Diaz-Calderon 242 (80-79-83), Casey Rotella 252 (85-86-81).

— ND –