Oct. 10, 1999
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s golf team slipped to an eighth-place finish Sunday at the University of Michigan Wolverine Invitational, after firing a second-round score of 337 at the par-73, 5,692-yard UM Golf Course.
Irish freshman Priscilla Ro (Falls Church, Va.) continued her solid fall by tying for 10th place in the 88-player field, firing an 81 on Sunday after opening with an 80 on Saturday.
Sophomore Kristin McMurtrie finished second among Notre Dame’s eight participants, tying for 20th after matching rounds of 82. Juniors Mary Klein (84-85) , Becca Schloss (87-89) and Danielle Villarosa (93-93) rounded out the Irish starting unit in the play-six, count-four format, with junior Shane Smith not counting to the team score after a second-round disqualification (she shot 84 on Saturday).
Two other Notre Dame golfers-freshman Terri Taibl (88-89) and sophomore Lauren Fuchs (87-91)-competed as individual entrants.
Notre Dame was tied for fifth place after an opening-round 330 but slipped behind Illinois State (330-332), Southern Illinois (336-327) and Eastern Michigan (327-323), with EMU edging the Irish (667) by a single stroke in the final standings.
Ohio University (320-320) rallied to tie first-round leader Kent University (316-324) for first place among the 14-team field, with Ohio earning the trophy due to higher scores among its fifth and sixth players.
Kent’s Jan Dowling (74-80) held off Lauren Kanda of Illinois (77-78) and Ohio’s Heather Fueger (73-82) for individual medalist honors.
Ro’s first-round 80 on Saturday included three birdies, nine pars, two bogeys and four double-bogeys. She closed on Sunday with two birdies, seven pars and nine bogeys.
Ro led the tournament with a combined four-under effort on the course’s four par-three holes while tying with Southwest Missouri’s Jessica Polus for the tournament high in birdies (5). Her par-three birdies came on the 146-yard 5th, the 145-yard 8th and the 126-yard 14th. She followed up her first-round birdie on the 13th with a birdie at the par-four, 368-yard 14th.
Fuchs and Western Michigan’s Brooke Hulzbrink were the only golfers in the tournament to post an eagle (they did so on the par-four, 390-yard 9th hole and the par-four, 368-yard 18th).
Notre Dame continued to play without senior captain Andrea Klee, who remains out indefinitely with an arm injury.
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS (36 holes): 1. Ohio University 320-320/640, 2. Kent 316-324/640, 3. Southwest Missouri 320-321/647, 4. Michigan 327-323/650, 5. Illinois State 330-322/652, 6. Southern Illinois 336-327/663, 7. Eastern Michigan 339-327/666, 8. Notre Dame 330-337/667, 9. Illinois 335-341/676, 10. Michigan-B 347-329/676, 11. Toledo 345-333/678, 12. Cincinnati 338-350/688, Bowling Green 354-334/688, 14. Western Michigan 369-370/709.
TOP INDIVIDUALS (of 88): 1. Jan Dowling (KENT) 74-80/154, 2. Lauren Kanda (ILL) 77-78/155, Heather Fueger (OU) 73-82/155, 4. Jessica Polus (SWM) 78-79/157, 5. Candace Artz (OU) 81-78/159, Katie Howard (SWM) 80-79/159, 7. Jennifer Shutt (SIU) 85-75/160, Julie Sovesky (OU) 82-78/160, Jill Rachford (ISU) 80-80/160, 10. Priscilla Ro (ND) 80-81/161, Bess Bowers (MICH) 82-79/161, Suzanne Walker (ISU) 81-80/161.
OTHER NOTRE DAME SCORES: 20. Kristin McMurtrie 82-82/164, 36. Mary Klein 84-85/169, 63. Becca Schloss 87-89/176, 65, Terri Taibl (indiv.) 88-89/177, 47. Lauren Fuchs (indiv.) 87-91/178, 79. Danielle Villarosa 93-93/186, Shane Smith 84-DQ.