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Irish Tied For Fourth After Opening Round Of The Spalding/Peggy Kirk Bell Invitational

March 10, 2003

West Springs, Fla. – A little bit of rain did nothing to dampen the spirits of the Notre Dame women’s golf team as they played the opening round of the Peggy Kirk Bell Invitational on Monday at the Tuscawilla Country Club.

After having half of Sunday’s practice round cut short due to rain and then having today’s morning round cancelled to allow the golf course to dry, the Irish went out and shot their best round of the spring, firing a 26-over par 314 to tie the University of Minnesota for fourth-place in the 13-team tournament.

Notre Dame will go into Tuesday’s final round of play just five strokes behind first-round leader Penn State as the Nittany Lions fired a 309 on the par 72, 6,089-yard course.

The Irish lead the University of Memphis by two strokes as the Tigers check in with a 311. Rollins College, the host school and the alma mater of the tournament’s namesake, is tied for third with a 313.

Individually, Notre Dame’s Katie Brophy (Fr., Spokane, Wash.) has a share of the lead after the first round with a one-over par 73. He opened with a 36 for the front nine and shot a 37 on the back for her 73. She is tied with Memphis’ Marianne Ruud, who shot 38-35 on the afternoon round.

Two golfers, Penn State’s Katie Futcher and Florida Southern’s Pamela Faggans are one stroke back at 74 while two others are two strokes behind the leaders with 75s.

Also in the top 10 for the Irish is freshman Suzie Hayes (Dublin, Ireland) who fired an opening round 77. Hayes is playing as an individual entrant for Notre Dame.

Five strokes behind the leaders in a tie for 15th is sophomore Karen Lotta (Los Angeles, Calif.) who opened with a 78 in her first round of play. Individual entrant Lauren Gebauer (Columbus, Ohio) who also shot an opening 78 joins her in a tie for 15th..

Rounding out Notre Dame’s scoring five is freshman Sarah Basset (Spokane, Wash.) in a tie for 22nd with a 79. Juniors Rebecca Rogers (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Shannon Byrne (Arlington Heights, Ill.) opened with rounds of 82 and 84 on Monday.

Two other Irish golfers – senior Terri Taibl (Elm Grove, Wis.) and freshman Lauren Barbir (Montgomery, Texas) – join Hayes and Gebauer as individual entrants. Taibl is tied for 31st with an 80 and Barbir is tied for 48th after shooting an opening round 83.

The final 18 holes of the Spalding/Peggy Kirk Bell Invitational will be played on Tuesday beginning at 8:00 a.m.

TEAM RESULTS (18-hole totals): 1. Penn State 309; 2. University of Memphis 311; 3. Rollins College 313; t4. Notre Dame 314; Minnesota 314; 6. James Madison 317; 7. Illinois State 318; 8. Southern Illinois 319; 9. Florida Southern 320; 10. William & Mary 327; 11. Georgetown 332; 12. Stetson 334; 13. Northern Illinois 344.

TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 75): t1. Katie Brophy (Notre Dame) 73; Marianne Ruud (Memphis) 73; t3. Katie Futcher (Penn State) 74; Pamela Faggans (Florida Southern) 74; t5. Jessica Lewis (James Madison) 75; Josey Edwards (Memphis) 75; t7. Suzie Hayes (Notre Dame) 76; Karyn Stordahl (Minnesota) 76; Charlotte Campbell (Rollins) 76; Connie Isler (Georgetown) 76; Jayme Langford (James Madison) 76.

NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (of 75):Katie Brophy 73; t7. * Suzie Hayes 76; t15. Karen Lotta 78; * Lauren Gebauer 78; t22. Sarah Bassett 79; t31. * Terri Taibl 80; t45. Rebecca Rogers 82; t48. * Lauren Barbir 83; t52. Shannon Byrne 84.

*individual entrants