Sept. 9, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The 2006-07 Notre Dame women’s golf season will get underway at the Cougar Classic in Hanahan, S.C. on Monday, Sept. 11 and Tuesday, Sept. 12. The Irish will square off against 17 teams, including the host school the College of Charleston, at the par 72, 6,107-yard Yeamans Hall Golf Club.
The Irish are looking to lay the groundwork for another BIG EAST title and a return to the NCAA Tournament. Senior Noriko Nakazaki (Hanover Park, Ill./Hoffman Estates) will be heading the charge. Nakazaki enters her final campaign at Notre Dame as the program’s current career stroke average leader with a 76.05 mark. She led the squad with a 75.41 average last season along with taking medalist honors at the Notre Dame Invitational and earning all-BIG EAST honors for the third straight season.
The Fighting Irish placed in a tie for third at the BIG EAST Tournament last season and narrowly missed their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
“Our goal for this year is to get off to a strong start,” says Irish assistant coach Kyle Veltri. “We hope to do well in this first tournament against a really good field. There are 18 teams and we are ranked in right about the middle of the pack. If we get off to a great start we feel that good things will happen for the entire year.”
Playing from the number two spot in the Notre Dame lineup will be sophomore Lisa Maunu (St. Thomas, Ontario/Parkside Collegiate Intsitute). Maunu made an immediate impact with the Irish during her rookie campaign in 2005-06. She recorded a 79.83 stroke average over the course of 10 tournaments. She was in the scoring lineup in nine tournaments, with her highest finish coming at the Notre Dame Invitational, where she tied for eighth overall. Her lowest three-round total of the season was a 12-over par 228 at the Shoot-Out at the Legends.
“The team has been looking good in practice,” states Veltri. “They are just ready to play in their first tournament of the season.”
Freshmen Kristin Wetzel (Middletown, N.Y./Hilton Head Prep School) and Annie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) will make their collegiate debuts from the number three and four positions, respectively, for the Irish. Wetzel had an accomplished prep career, which included a victory at the 2004 New York City Women’s Amateur.
Brophy is the younger sister of former Notre Dame standout Katie Brophy, a 2006 graduate who ranks second on the program’s all-time career stroke average list. The younger Brophy placed fourth in the Washington Class 4A State Championship along with qualifying for match play at the U.S. Junior Girls Championship in a sudden-death playoff.
Rounding out the Irish quintet is senior Stacy Brown (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands). Brown played in two events last season, posting a 79.00 stroke average. She has a career mark of 78.64.
“Noriko and Lisa bring veteran experience to the lineup along with Stacy,” says Veltri. “Kristen and Annie will do just fine, also. After their names are announced on the first tee, they’ll settle down and be just fine.”
Joining Notre Dame at the tournament will be Alabama, Campbell, College of Charleston, Florida State, Furman, Georgia State, Kentucky, LSU, Maryland, Miami, Mississippi State, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Richmond, South Florida, Tennessee and UNC Greensboro.
Both days will feature shotgun starts, with two 18-hole rounds being played on Monday beginning at 8:45 a.m. and one round starting at 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Live hole-by-hole scoring will be available by Golfstat.com throughout the tournament. To access the site go to http://www.golfstatlive.com.
Stay up-to-date on the Notre Dame women’s golf team by logging on to und.com or by calling the Notre Dame Athletics Hotline at (574) 631-3000.
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