Sept. 1, 2004
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s golf team will open the 2004-05 season this weekend as they host the fifth annual Notre Dame Invitational. The 17-team field will take to Warren Golf Course for 36 holes of play on Saturday, Sept. 4 and conclude competition with a final round of 18 holes on Sunday, Sept. 5. Head coach Debby King and the Irish are trying to build off a successful 2003-04 campaign which saw them win their second straight BIG EAST Conference title and make the program’s first-ever appearance at an NCAA Regional. Seven monogram winners return to the squad including junior co-captains Katie Brophy (Spokane, WA/Gonzaga Prep) and Suzie Hayes (Dublin, Ireland/Loreto College). Brophy placed fourth at the conference championship and was named an all-BIG EAST performer in the spring of 2004. Noriko Nakazaki (Hanover Park, IL/Hoffman Estates) capped off a surprising freshman season by finishing third at the conference tournament and was also named all-BIG EAST along with teammate Karen Lotta (Los Angeles, CA/Marymount), who placed seventh. Many of the Irish golfers experienced a successful summer on the course. Brophy and junior Lauren Gebauer (Columbus, OH/Upper Arlington) played their way into the U.S. Women’s Amateur with solid performances in the sectional qualifying round. Nakazaki nearly qualified for the Women’s Amateur as well, but fell three shots short. Senior Casey Rotella (Keswick, VA/Monticello), who has been hampered by an injury for much of the past two seasons, captured the Charlottesville (Va.) Women’s City Championship by an impressive 10 strokes with a three-under par 137. Notre Dame, a winner in three of the four previous Invitationals, will welcome a field that includes in-state foes Ball State and Butler, along with Big Ten Conference members Illinois and Iowa, the 2001 invitational champion. Northern Iowa, Bradley, Xavier and Western Michigan rounded out last year’s top-five along with the Irish and they will all return to battle it out again this weekend. Washington State is the highest-ranked team in this year’s field as the Cougars are 56th, according to golfweek.com. Notre Dame ranks one spot below at 57 with Iowa (75), Western Michigan (87), Iowa State (88) and Illinois (95) also in the Top 100. Last year’s individual champion Stephanie Donkin, who fired a 12-over 228, returns as part of the Western Michigan squad. Junior Sarah Bassett (Spokane, WA/Lewis and Clark) was the top finisher for the Irish as she carded a 230, which placed her third. Erin Westensee (Northern Iowa) and Brophy will also look to equal or improve on their top-five finishes of a year ago. Golfweek.com ranks Washington State’s Kim Welch as the 23rd-best golfer in the country. Competition gets underway both days with a shotgun start beginning at 8:00 a.m. (EST). Saturday’s second round will begin following a short lunch break. For results of each day’s action, please log on to www.und.com or call the Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000. 2004 Notre Dame Women’s Golf Invitational Field: Ball State, Bradley, Butler, Eastern Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Loyola (Chicago), Marshall, Northern Iowa, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Southwest Missouri State, Toledo, Washington State, Western Michigan, Xavier — ND –