Senior Noriko Nakazaki captured her fourth top-10 finish of the season by placing in a tie for sixth at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational.

Irish Tied For Eighth After First Two Rounds Of Central District Classic

Feb. 19, 2007

PARRISH, Fla. – The Notre Dame women’s golf team currently resides in a tie for eighth place after the first two rounds of the Central District Classic at the par 72, 6,099-yard River Wilderness Golf Club. The Irish carry a 36-hole total of 612 (309-303) into Tuesday’s third and final round. Texas A&M leads the 14-team field with an 11-over par score of 587 (291-296).

Freshman Julie Kim (Bayside, N.Y./Bayside) paced the Irish on the day as she fired rounds of 76 and 73 and is tied for ninth with a five-over par 149 total. Kim is making her collegiate debut after not playing during the first semester due to an injury. She is nine shots in back of Texas A&M’s Ashley Knoll, who leads all 73 golfers with a four-under par 140 (67-73). Her first round five-under par 67 was the low round of the day.

Notre Dame senior co-captain Noriko Nakazaki (Hanover Park, Ill./Hoffman Estates) posted two rounds of 75 on Monday and is tied for 12th with a six-over par 150. Freshman Annie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) fired a 79 in the first round and came back with a 76 in the afternoon and is currently tied for 36th with an 11-over par 155.

Fellow freshman Kristin Wetzel (Middletown, N.Y./Hilton Head Prep) registered identical rounds of 79 on the day and is tied for 53rd with a 158 total. Rounding out the Irish scoring was sophomore Lisa Maunu (St. Thomas, Ontario/Collegiate Parkside Institute), who carries a 176 (89-87) into the final 18 holes of play.

No. 20 Michigan State, the host school for the event, posted a 593 (296-297) on the day and is six shots in back of Texas A&M. Texas (607), LSU (608) and Baylor (609) round out the top five. The Spartans are the highest-ranked team in the field, while the Aggies are No. 24 in the latest Golfstat rankings.

The Central District Classic will conclude on Tuesday with the final 18 holes of play. Live results of the tournament are available at Golfstat.com. For additional information, log on to und.com or call the Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.

Central District Classic (River Wilderness Golf Club – Parrish, Fla. Par 72, 6,099-yards)

Team Scores (36-hole totals): 1. Texas A&M 587 (291-296), 2. Michigan State 593 (296-297), 3. Texas 607 (295-312), 4. LSU 608 (310-298), 5. Baylor 609 (302-307), 6. Northwestern 610 (304-306), 7. Arkansas 611 (308-303), 8t. TCU 612 (311-301), 8t. Notre Dame 612 (309-303), 10. Michigan 614 (306-308), 11. Missouri 617 (308-309), 12. Tulsa 626 (313-313), 13. SMU 627 (321-306), 14. Nebraska 636 (320-316)

Top-5 Golfers (36-hole totals): 1. Ashley Knoll (Texas A&M) 140 (67-73), 2. Sara Brown (Michigan State) 141 (71-70), 3. Kate Ackerson (SMU) 145 (74-71), 4. Heather Rose (Michigan State) 146 (74-72), 5t. Liliana Alvarez (Northwestern) 147 (73-74), 5t. Allison Martin (Baylor) 147 (71-76), 5t. Gemma Webster (Ohio State) 147 (73-74)

Notre Dame Scores (36-hole totals): 9t . Julie Kim 149 (76-73), 12t. Noriko Nakazaki 150 (75-75), 36t. Annie Brophy 155 (79-76), 53t. Kristin Wetzel 158 (79-79), 73. Lisa Maunu 176 (89-87)