March 12, 2004
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s golf team began its spring season at the inaugural St. Croix Collegiate Classic on Friday and is in third place following the first day of play at the U.S. Virgin Islands tournament. The Irish are 20 strokes behind Southern Methodist, which is first after shooting an outstanding opening-round total of 296, and 10 shots away from second-place Baylor (306). Notre Dame owns a slim one-shot lead over Texas Tech in the 15-team tournament as the Red Raiders turned in a 317 on day one. The 54-hole tournament, hosted by Xavier University, is being played on the par-72, 6,020-yard Robert Trent Jones, Sr., course at the Carambola Golf Club.
Junior Karen Lotta (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) and sophomore Katie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) paced the Irish scoring five in the first round with matching scores of six-over par 78, placing them in a tie for 18th.
The top performance by a Notre Dame golfer on Friday came from sophomore Suzie Hayes (Dublin, Ireland/Loreto College) who, playing as an individual entrant, sits in a seventh-place tie after firing an opening-round 76. Hayes is three strokes behind the tournament co-leaders, the Mustangs’ Missy Ryan and Kristina Rothengatte.
Following Lotta and Brophy in the Irish lineup are senior co-captain Shannon Byrne (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) and freshman Stacy Brown (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands HS). Byrne and Brown are both tied for 25th place after each player carded an 80 in the first round. Freshman Noriko Nakazaki (Hanover Park, Ill./Hoffman Estates) shot an 87 on day one and rounds out Notre Dame’s top five for this tournament.
Along with Hayes, sophomores Lauren Gebauer (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) and Sarah Bassett (Spokane, Wash./Lewis and Clark) are also participating as individuals in Notre Dame’s opening spring tourney. Gebauer shot a seven-over par 79 in the first round, putting her in a 22nd-place tie, and Bassett turned in an 18-hole total of 81, placing her in a tie for 32nd.
The St. Croix Collegiate Classic resumes play on Saturday morning, March 13, with tee times beginning at 6:00 (EST). The first Irish golfer to tee off will be Bassett at 6:18 a.m. (EST) from the 10th hole. Nakazaki will be the first member of the scoring five to hit the links on day two, teeing off from the first hole at 7:30 a.m. (EST).
Results will be available on www.und.com following Saturday’s action as well as after the final 18 holes of play, which will be played on Sunday, March 14.
— ND —
TEAM RESULTS (18-hole totals): 1. Southern Methodist 296; 2. Baylor 306; 3. Notre Dame 316, 4. Texas Tech 317; 5. Illinois State 318; 6. Illinois 319; 7.(tie) Xavier 326, Boston College 326; 9. Wyoming 328; 10. Wichita State 332; 11. Texas State 336; 12. Texas Pan-American 342; 13. Longwood University 346; 14. Rend Lake 368.
TOP 11 INDIVIDUALS (of 82): 1.(tie) Missy Ryan (Southern Methodist) 73, Kristina Rothengatte (Southern Methodist) 73; 3. Michaelyn Morgan (Baylor) 74; 4.(tie) Ashley Deatherage (Southern Methodist) 75, Megan Hull (Texas Tech) 75, Laura Cross (Southern Methodist) 75; 7.(tie) Suzie Hayes* (Notre Dame) 76, Josefin Svenningsson (Baylor) 76, Samantha Richdale (Illinois St.) 76, Ashlie Rose (Illinois St.) 76, Michelle Carroll (Illinois) 76.
NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (of 82): 7.(tie) Suzie Hayes* 76; 18.(tie) Karen Lotta 78, Katie Brophy 78; 22.(tie) Lauren Gebauer* 79; 25th.(tie) Shannon Byrne 80, Stacy Brown 80; 32.(tie) Sarah Bassett* 81; 60.(tie) Noriko Nakazaki 87.
* – Individual entrant