Feb. 19, 2008
PARRISH, Fla. – The No. 19 Notre Dame women’s golf team carded a 314 during the third and final round of the Central District Invitational on Tuesday at the par 72, 6,099-yard River Wilderness Golf Club. The Fighting Irish concluded the two-day event, which was their first competition of the spring, with a three-round total of 929 (315-300-314) and in 10th place. Michigan State, the host for the tournament, topped the 15-team field with an 892 (291-298-303).
Sara Brown made it a clean sweep for the 23rd-ranked Spartans as she claimed medalist honors with a four-under par 212 (70-70-72). Her two rounds of 70 (-2) on Monday marked the low rounds for the tournament, while Michigan State’s first-round 291 (+3) was the top team round. Missouri’s Julia Potter was the runner-up with a three-over par 219.
Texas A&M, the No. 25 team in the latest Golfstat rankings, finished 10 shots in back of Michigan State and in second place. Rounding out the top-five was No. 14 Kent State (912), Ohio State (913) and Texas (914).
Pacing the Irish was junior co-captain Lisa Maunu (St. Thomas, Ontario/Parkside Collegiate Institute), who finished with a 12-over par 228 (77-74-77) and in a three-way tie for 15th among the field of 72 golfers. Maunu’s five-over par 77 on Tuesday was the top round of the day for Notre Dame. This marked the third team-leading effort of the 2007-08 season for Maunu.
Notre Dame freshman So-Hyun Park (Seoul, South Korea/Bradenton Prep) was one shot in back of her teammate with a 229 (75-75-79) and in a five-way tie for 18th. Fellow freshman Katie Conway (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) carded a six-over par 78 during the third round to finish with a 233 (79-76-78) and tied for 31st.
A pair of sophomores completed the Fighting Irish lineup. Annie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) registered a 239 (84-75-80) total and tied for 50th, while Kristin Wetzel (Middletown, N.Y./Hilton Head Prep) notched a 243 (85-78-80) and tied for 61st.
“We beat ourselves,” said Notre Dame head coach Susan Holt. “I was shocked with how we played. I think we lacked focus and discipline and that hurt us. We didn’t pay attention to detail and hopefully it’s a wake-up call.”
“I was happy with yesterday afternoon because we held our composure after the first round. Plus we didn’t play that bad in the windy and rainy conditions. We put ourselves in a good position heading into today, but we couldn’t continue that momentum.”
Notre Dame returns to the course on March 7-9 at the Rio Verde Collegiate Invitational in Scottsdale, Ariz. The event will be held at the Rio Verde Golf Club. For additional information please log on to und.com or call the Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.
Central District Invitational (River Wilderness Golf Club – Parrish, Fla., Par 72, 6,099 yards)
Final Team Scores (54-hole totals): 1. Michigan State 892 (291-298-303), 2. Texas A&M 902 (302-302-298), 3. Kent State 912 (304-299-309), 4. Ohio State 913 (308-296-309), 5. Texas 914 (304-303-307), 6. Missouri 917 (306-305-306), 7. Indiana 921 (304-311-306), 8. Michigan 926 (302-314-310), 9. Nebraska 927 (314-308-305), 10. Notre Dame 929 (315-300-314), 11t. SMU 935 (310-312-313), 11t. Oklahoma 935 (312-313-310), 13. Northwestern 939 (314-312-313), 14. Baylor 956 (317-314-325), 15. Kansas State 963 (329-317-317)
Top-5 Golfers (of 72): 1. Sara Brown (Michigan State) 212 (70-70-72), 2. Julia Potter (Missouri) 219 (73-72-74), 3t. Carling Coffing (Ohio State) 221 (77-72-72), 3t. Ashley Rollins (Texas) 221 (73-76-72), 5. Ashley Freeman (Texas A&M) 222 (73-76-73)
Notre Dame Scores: 15t. Lisa Maunu 228 (77-74-77), 18t. So-Hyun Park 229 (75-75-79), 31t. Katie Conway 233 (79-76-78), 50t. Annie Brophy 239 (84-75-80), 61t. Kristin Wetzel 243 (85-78-80)