April 3, 2003
Bloomington, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s golf team enjoys its closest trip of the season this weekend when they participate in the 25th Indiana Invitational, played at the par 74, 6,134-yard Indiana University Golf Course, on April 5-6. The Irish will make their 14th appearance in the 15-year history of the program and will be looking to improve on last year’s 11th-place finish in the field of 14 teams. Karen Lotta (So., Los Angeles, Calif.) was the team’s top finisher as she tied for 28th with an 18-over par 240. The best finish the Irish have ever had at the Indiana Invitational came in 1998 when they finished sixth in a 15-team field. Mary Klein (’00) had the best individual finish that season as she tied for fifth overall.
Dates and Times: The 54-hole Indiana Invitational will have 36 holes played on Saturday, April 5 beginning with an 8:00 a.m. shotgun start. Sunday’s final round is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. EST with a shotgun start. Please be reminded that with the start of Daylight Savings Time on Sunday, that Indiana does not change its clocks as the state stays on Eastern Standard Time all year. Indiana will be on the same time as Chicago or Central Standard Time beginning on Sunday.
The Teams: The 11-team tournament features three of the top five teams from last year’s tournament including tournament champion Michigan. The lineup includes: Arkansas-Little Rock, Indiana, Illinois State, Iowa, Kent State, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Notre Dame, Purdue and Wisconsin.
Irish Lineup: Coach Debby King will take six golfers to the Indiana Invitational this weekend. Leading the way is freshman Katie Brophy (Spokane, Wash.) who was the team’s top finisher two weeks ago at the Baylor-Tapito Springs Shootout in Texas. Brophy finished in a tie for 17th with a 19-over par 235. She was followed by senior captain Terri Taibl (Elm Grove, Wis.) who has put together a strong spring. Taibl shot a 238 to tie for 26th. Junior Shannon Byrne (Arlington Heights, Ill.) and three freshmen round out the Irish lineup. Making their first appearances at the Indiana Invitational will be rookies Sarah Bassett (Fr., Spokane, Wash.), Lauren Gebauer (Fr., Columbus, Ohio) and Suzie Hayes (Fr., Dublin, Ireland).
Irish Leaders: Notre Dame has two golfers shooting under 80.00 for the entire season. Katie Brophy owns a 78.75 average after playing in all 10 tournaments in 2002-03. She is followed by fellow freshman Sarah Bassett who owns a 79.00 average in nine tournaments. Senior Terri Taibl has the best average of her career with an 80.53 mark for seven tournaments. Her previous best was an 81.82 as a sophomore. Right behind her is Lauren Gebauer with an 80.55 in eight tournament and Suzie Hayes owns an 80.60 in four tourneys this year. Shannon Byrne, who has played in every tournament in her career at Notre Dame, has an 80.86 in all 10 tournaments this season.
Tournament Results: Results will be available on the Notre Dame website at und.com after 9:00 p.m. on each day of tournament play.
Next For The Irish: The Notre Dame’s women’s golf team will next be in action on April 21-22 when they compete in the first-ever BIG EAST Women’s Championship at the Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame. Action will begin each day at 9:00 a.m.