April 25, 2006
DADE CITY, Fla. – A third-place finish is not what they were hoping for, yet the Notre Dame women’s golf team went out with a bang during the third and final round of the BIG EAST Championship on Tuesday at the par 72, 5,968-yard Lake Jovita Golf Club. The Fighting Irish posted a tournament-best tying round of 294 (+6), which included three golfers shooting a one-under par 71, to tie for third overall with a 914 (304-316-294). Junior Noriko Nakazaki (Hanover Park, Ill./Hoffman Estates) finished the tournament with a 220 (71-78-71) and in second-place to collect All-BIG EAST honors for the third straight season.
Louisville, a BIG EAST newcomer, captured the team crown with a three-round total of 889 (296-294-299), while Adrienne White made it a clean sweep for the Cardinals as she took home medalist honors with an even-par 216 (74-69-73). Georgetown finished 21 shots in back of Louisville as the runner-up and the Irish tied South Florida, another conference newcomer and the host of the tournament, in third. Defending champion St. John’s placed sixth with a 956 total.
Nakazaki’s round of 71 was highlighted with a hole-in-one on the hole No. 2. Joining her with an identical one-under par round was senior co-captain Katie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) and freshman Lisa Maunu (St. Thomas, Ontario/Parkside Collegiate Institute). Brophy’s final round helped to propel her to a third career All-BIG EAST honor as she tied for seventh with a 227 (77-79-71) total. Maunu, who knocked 16 strokes off of her second round total, placed 27th with a 240 (82-87-71) in her first-ever conference tournament.
Senior Lauren Gebauer (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) shot an 81 on Tuesday and concluded the two-day event in a tie for 16th with a 234 (74-79-81). Gebauer’s classmate Suzie Hayes (Dublin, Ireland/Loreto College) also carded an 81 during the third round to finish with a 243 (82-80-81) and tied for 29th.
Notre Dame’s Tuesday total of 294 tied a season-best effort for the Irish and is the team’s top round of the spring semester. The Fighting Irish entered the BIG EAST tournament with seven individual rounds under par and carded four over the past two days alone, all one-under par 71s. Nakazaki posted two of those rounds and leads the team with four rounds under par on the season.
The Irish will now wait to hear if their name will be called for the 2006 NCAA Women’s Golf Championship when selections are made on Monday, May 1. Notre Dame is looking to make its third straight appearance in the tournament. 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.
BIG EAST Championship (Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club – Dade City, Fla., Par 72, 5,968-yards)
Final Team Scores (54-hole totals): 1. Louisville 889 (296-294-299), 2. Georgetown 910 (308-295-307), 3t. Notre Dame 914 (304-316-294), 3t. South Florida 914 (303-313-298), 5. Cincinnati 935 (312-313-310), 6. St. John’s 956 (320-320-316), 7. Rutgers 959 (316-318-325).
Top-7 Golfers (All-BIG EAST) (out of 35) (54-hole totals): 1. Adrienne White (Louisville) 216 (74-69-73), 2. Noriko Nakazaki (Notre Dame) 220 (71-78-71), 3. Jessica Buchta (South Florida) 221 (74-77-70), 4. Cindy LaCrosse (Louisville) 222 (72-74-76), 5. Cristina Gonzalez (Louisville) 225 (73-75-77), 6. Nicole Hayashi (Georgetown) 226 (77-74-75), 7t. Katie Brophy (Notre Dame) 227 (77-79-71), 7t. Jenna Winokur (Georgetown) 227 (78-74-75).
Notre Dame Scores (54-hole totals): 2. Noriko Nakazaki 220 (71-78-71), 7t. Katie Brophy 227 (77-79-71), 16t. Lauren Gebauer 234 (74-79-81), 27. Lisa Maunu 240 (82-87-71), 29t. Suzie Hayes 243 (82-80-81).
— ND —