Annie Brophy will be playing in her third consecutive NCAA central regional.

Irish Set To Tee It Up At The NCAA Central Regional

May 4, 2010

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NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s golf team is set to take part in the 2010 NCAA Central Regional on May 6-8 in Columbus, Ind. at the Otter Creek Golf Club. Each of the three days will consist of one 18-hole round of play, all of which is preceded by a practice round on May 5. With a top-eight finish at the Central Regional, which is being hosted by Indiana University, the Irish would advance to the NCAA Finals for the first time in program history. 2010 marks Notre Dame’s fifth appearance in the NCAA Championship and the Irish have now been selected to participate in three consecutive NCAA Central Regionals for the first time in program history.

A total of 369 participants have been selected to play at three regional sites. In addition to Otter Creek, the other two 2010 regional sites include the Ironwood Country Club (East Regional hosted by East Carolina) and the Stanford Golf Course (West Regional hosted by Stanford University).

From the three regional sites, 126 players will advance to the championships finals. The eight lowest scoring teams, as well as the two lowest scoring individuals on non-advancing teams from each of the three regional sites will qualify for the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship.

Notre Dame’s probable lineup includes senior co-captain Annie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) and her classmate Julie Kim (Bayside, N.Y./Bayside), junior Katie Conway (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) as well as sophomores Katie Allare (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Becca Huffer (Denver, Colo./Littleton HS).

Daily recaps of Notre Dame’s performances will be posted at und.com, where photo galleries will also be posted. Complete results and updated tee times and pairings will be posted on www.golfstat.com and www.iuhoosiers.com as they become available. Live scoring of the championship will also be available through www.golfstat.com (which can be accessed by clicking on the “Live Results” tab on the right-hand side of the Notre Dame women’s golf schedule page on und.com).

Following The Irish At The Championship
Daily recaps of Notre Dame’s performances will be posted at und.com, where photo galleries will also be posted. Complete results and updated tee times and pairings will be posted on www.golfstat.com and www.iuhoosiers.com as they become available. Live scoring of the championship will also be available through www.golfstat.com (which can be accessed by clicking on the “Live Results” tab on the right-hand side of the Notre Dame women’s golf schedule page on und.com).

The Course
The 2010 NCAA Central Regional will be contested at the Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus, Ind. The Fighting Irish have not played a tournament at Otter Creek and 2010 marks the first year Otter Creek will play host to NCAA women’s golf regional action.

The Otter Creek Golf Course has been ranked among the top 25 public golf courses in the U.S. since its inception in 1964. The 27-hole championship course was originally developed by renowned golf course designers Robert Trent Jones and Rees Jones.

Irish At The NCAAs
2010 marks Notre Dame’s fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the Irish have now been selected to participate in three consecutive NCAA Regionals for the first time in program history.

In 2004 and 2005 the Irish received at-large berths to the Central Regional, finishing 17th and 18th, respectively. The 2004 event was contested at Illinois State’s University Golf Course in Normal, Ill., while the 2005 regional was played on Texas Tech’s Jerry S. Rawls Golf Course. Noriko Nakazaki led the Irish in those first two trips to the NCAAs, finishing tied for 36th in 2004 and then tying for 37th in 2005.

Then in 2007 Nakazaki played individually in the NCAA Central Regional in Ann Arbor, Mich., becoming the program’s first individual entrant into NCAA postseason play. She shot an 11-over par 224 to finish tied for 18th, which marks the best individual NCAA finish in program history. The 11-over par mark is also a program best mark in NCAA play.

A year later, Notre Dame returned to NCAA play as a team by winning the 2008 BIG EAST Championship. The Irish went on to finish 16th at the 2008 NCAA Central Regional in Austin, Texas, which was played at the University of Texas Golf Club.

Last season, the Irish earned an at large bid to the NCAA Championship field and again played in the Central Regional. The Irish finished 16th for the second consecutive season (details below).

Notre Dame At The 2009 Central Regional
In 2009, the Irish made their second consecutive team appearance in the NCAA Central Regional, which was played at Ohio State’s Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio. Notre Dame shot a 95-over par (316-305-338-959/+95) to finish 16th for the second consecutive season.

Becca Huffer led the Irish as she finished tied for 27th. Huffer shot a plus-nine 81 on the final day of play (on an extremely windy day that made afternoon scoring very difficult). She had eight pars on day three and added a birdie at the 12th hole. She was 14-strokes over par for the tournament.

Lisa Maunu closed out her Irish career with a plus-10 82 in round three. She birdied the second and 17th holes and also added six pars. The team captain and 2009 BIG EAST medalist had 97 (of a possible 119) of her rounds counted towards the Notre Dame team score over her four seasons of play. So-Hyun Park was Notre Dame’s third scorer of the afternoon with a 15-over par 87. She notched four pars and had a birdie at the seventh hole, which she also birdied during the first round of play.

Annie Brophy and Julie Kim each shot an 88 in round three to complete the Irish scoring. Brophy finished 32-over par for the tournament, while Kim ended with a 46-over par mark at the event. Brophy had five pars on the final day, while Kim was able to notch seven pars.

The 2010 Regional Field
The Irish join 23 other teams and three individuals to comprise the field for the 2010 NCAA Central Regional. Amongst the 24 teams, there are nine conference champions including Purdue (Big Ten), Denver (Sun Belt), New Mexico (Mountain West), Louisville (BIG EAST), Kent State (Mid-American), Illinois State (Missouri Valley), Murray State (Ohio Valley), Detroit (Horizon) and Jackson State (Southwest Athletic). The regional will also showcase eight top-25 ranked teams and 13 of Golfstat’s top-40.

During the 2009-10 season, the Irish played in tournaments against 13 of the central regional’s other 23 teams a total of 29 times. In those 29 meetings, the Irish have posted a 10-18-1 record. Notre Dame’s 10 wins came against 17th-seeded Baylor (one win), #10 Louisville (one), #15 Mississippi (two), #7 New Mexico (one), #13 Northwestern (one), #19 North Carolina State (two), #3 Purdue (one) and #18 Tulsa (one). Notre Dame’s tie with a central regional opponent also came against Northwestern.

The Irish losses came against eighth-seeded Florida State (two losses), #5 Georgia (one), #12 Kent State (two), #10 Louisville (two), #4 Michigan State (three), #15 Mississippi (one), #7 New Mexico (one), #13 Northwestern (two), #11 Oregon (one) and #3 Purdue (three).

Notre Dame NCAA Bests
The top team round for Notre Dame in NCAA competition was a 14-over par 302, shot during the first round of the 2008 Central Regional. The round was part of a 54-hole total of 925 (+61), which ranks as the best three-round score in Notre Dame’s NCAA Tournament history. The top individual round from an Irish golferin the NCAAs is a one-over par 72 from Noriko Nakazaki at the 2007 NCAA Central Regional, where she competed as an individual. Nakazaki’s three-round 224 (+11) is the best 54-hole mark for a Fighting Irish competitor in NCAA play. Notre Dame’s best finish in NCAA play came when the team finished 16th in 2008 and 2009.

NCAA Experience
As the Irish gear up for the 2010 NCAA Central Regional, they will have the experience of having appeared in the past two central regionals. Four of Notre Dame’s expected five starters enter the 2010 event with NCAA tournament experience. Annie Brophy played in both 2008 and 2009, while Katie Conway joined Brophy in the 2008 lineup. Julie Kim and Becca Huffer each made their respective NCAA debuts last season. Huffer’s debut was a strong one as she led the team with a 14-over par mark (230) at last season’s regional, good for a 27th-place tie.

In addition to guiding the Irish to team appearances in 2008 and 2009, head coach Susan Holt guided Noriko Nakazaki to the 2007 Central Regional as an individual entrant. Holt also led a team or individual to 11 NCAA Regional appearances while at South Florida. Additionally, Holt led the Bulls to NCAA Finals appearances in 2001 and 2002.

All-BIG EAST
Annie Brophy, Becca Huffer and Katie Conway were named to the 2010 All-BIG EAST Women’s Golf Team it was announced by the conference on Friday, April 30. Brophy and Huffer had the added distinction of being two of the six unanimous selections to the 12-player team.

For Brophy, it marked her fourth selection to the All-BIG EAST squad and she is now just the second player in program history to earn All-BIG EAST accolades four times, joining Noriko Nakazaki, a 2007 graduate, in that exclusive club. Huffer could be on pace to join Brophy and Nakazaki, having now earned All-BIG EAST honors in her first two seasons with the Irish. 2010 marks Conway’s first All-BIG EAST honor. All told, 12 Irish players have combined for 26 All-BIG EAST honors since 2003 and Huffer was also tabbed the 2009 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year.

Prior to last season, the BIG EAST honored an All-Tournament team based on top-10 finishes at the conference championship tournament, but the format was switched to an All-BIG EAST team for the 2009 season. The league’s coaches now vote for the Player of the Year, the Freshman of the Year and the Coach of the year, as well as for the All-BIG EAST Team. Louisville’s Sara-Maude Juneau (who will compete with UofL at the Central Regional) was a unanimous selection as the 2010 Player of the Year, while USF’s Shena Yang was a unanimous selection as the conference’s Freshman of the Year. The Bulls also saw Marci Kornegay earn BIG EAST Coach of the Year honors.

Updating The Irish Record Book
Based on the team’s totals and averages entering 2010 NCAA Regional play, several players are poised to move up many of Notre Dame’s career records lists.

Becca Huffer is set to eclipse So-Hyun Park for the lead in career stroke average (minimum 35 rounds), as she currently holds a 75.15 mark versus Park’s 76.19 total. Park will move to third, also behind Noriko Nakazaki’s 75.80 average. Annie Brophy enters NCAA play just behind Park with a to-date average of 76.50.

In terms of team stoke average, the Irish enter the regional with a 304.74 mark, which would be good for the third-lowest total in program history, improved upon by only the 2007-08 and 2008-09 teams.

Huffer is also poised to take over second place on the percentage of career rounds counted towards team scoring (minimum 60 rounds). She enters regional play having seen 58 of her 60 rounds (.967) counted in her first two seasons with the Irish. Kathy Phares is the career leader for percentage of rounds counted with a .971 (66 of 69) mark. Each of Huffer’s 27 rounds during the 2009-10 campaign have counted, and if that trend continues through the regional, she would become just the sixth player in program history to do so (seven times as Phares accomplished the feat twice).

Last Time Out
The Irish wrapped up play at the 2010 BIG EAST Conference Championship on Tuesday, April 20, finishing third in the seven-team field with a three-round score of 72-over par 936 (320-313-303) on the Innisbrook Resort/Island Course (par 72/6,205 yards) in Palm Harbor, Fla.

The Fighting Irish carded the lowest final-round score on Tuesday with a 303 (+15) and ended the three-day event 16 strokes back of tournament champion Louisville. South Florida finished second at 928 (+64), eight shots ahead of Notre Dame.

Annie Brophy was the top Fighting Irish individual at this year’s conference tournament, tying for second place at 10-over par 226 (80-72-74), six shots behind BIG EAST medalist Sara-Maude Juneau of Louisville. Brophy played the front nine at two-over par and followed with an even par back nine. She notched a birdie on the par-five 11th hole on the final day.

Becca Huffer turned in a final round three-over par 75 to finish in a tie for seventh. Her final round was a tale of two nines, as she was four-over par on the day at the turn but the sophomore rallied to card a one-under par back nine. In fact, she played her final 11 holes of the tournament at one-under par.

Katie Allare and Katie Conway turned in five-over par 77s to round out final round scoring for the Irish. Allare finished tied for 15th in her first career team tournament start. Her final round was highlighted by a birdie at the par-five 15th. Conway had 11 pars and a birdie on the day and finished tied for 25th. So-Hyun Park carded an 84 and finished tied with Conway in 25th-place.

Holt Quotes
Fighting Irish head coach Susan Holt shares some thoughts on the upcoming NCAA Central Regional:

On heading back to the NCAAs…
“The team is very excited to return to regionals for the third straight year. This is one of our main goals each year. They have an opportunity to be the first team to advance to finals … that is certainly something special to shoot for!”

On the lineup being used for the tournament…
“We will have a new look heading into regionals. Julie Kim has not been in our top-five all year but she qualified convincingly at the No. 5 spot. I feel very good about the players we are taking to regionals, as they are – without a doubt – the five players that are playing the best right now. We take five and count four. I think this group can get us four solid scores each day.”

On the Otter Creek Golf Course…
“Otter Creek is a Robert Trent Jones designed course. It opened in the mid 1960’s. It will be a great test of golf. It will require good course management decisions and demand well executed shots.”

On the competition…
“The eight teams that make it out will have played some great golf. We have played a very competitive schedule this year which I think has prepared us well for the great teams that we will be facing. Bottom line is the teams that beat the course and not themselves will advance!”

Brophy A Multiple Medalist
Annie Brophy tied for medalist honors at the rain-shortened Alamo Invitational on Oct. 27 in San Antonio, Texas at the Briggs Ranch Golf Club. Brophy fired a two-under par 70 to earn her second career win. She captured her first career win at the 2008 BIG EAST Championship when she fired an even-par 216. She is now just the fifth player in program history to record multiple tournament wins.

Leading the way on Notre Dame’s all-career wins list is Brophy’s older sister, Katie, who notched three career wins from 2002-06. Lisa Maunu, So-Hyun Park and Noriko Nakazaki have also won medalist honors on two occasions. Annie Brophy’s runner-up showing at the 2010 BIG EAST Championship also marked the second of her career, having also finished as the runner-up at the 2008 Rio Verde Collegiate Invitational.

Next Up
The eight lowest scoring teams – as well as the two lowest scoring individuals on non-advancing teams – from each of the three regional championships will qualify for the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship. The championship will be hosted by UNCW on May 18-21, at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C.

–ND–