March 17, 2002
Citrus Springs, Fla. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team finished spring break with a 17th-place finish at the El Diablo Invitational after firing a final round total of 308 on Sunday afternoon. That gave Notre Dame a 54-hole total of 918 (304-306-308) on the par 72, 7045-yard El Diablo Golf and Country Club.
That put the Irish 25 strokes off the pace set by tournament champion William and Mary as the Tribe shot a 19-over par total of 883 to finish a stroke ahead of second-place finishers Louisville and the University of West Florida as those two schools finished with 884 totals. The host team, Marshall University who led after two rounds finished fourth with an 886 total after shooting a closing round of 886. Elon University was fifth with and 887 as six strokes separated the top six teams in the tournament.
Leading the Irish was senior Steve Ratay (Arlington Heights, Ill.) who continues to be one of the top golfers in school history. Ratay finished in a tie for fourth after a closing round of 76 after rounds of 73 and 68 for a one-over par total of 217. That put Ratay just four strokes behind tournament medalist Justin Ragognetti who shot a three-under par 213 (73-68-72) for the weekend.
Ragognetti finished a stroke ahead of Marshall’s Brian Perry who finished with a two-under par 214 with rounds of 70-72-72. Mark Anderson of Louisville was third with a 215 (73-69-73). Ratay tied for fourth with West Florida’s Bryan Clarke who also turned in a 217 total after rounds of 71, 70 and 76.
For Notre Dame, following Ratay on the scoreboard was senior Chris Whitten (Rockford, Mich.) who tied for 64th with a 231 after rounds of 79, 74 and 78. Freshman K.C. Wiseman finished in a tie for 68th with a 232 total (73-83-76). Steve Colnitis (Fr., Baldwin, Md.) tied for 84th with a 238 (79-81-78) and senior Kevin Ricci (Winter Park, Fla.) rounded out the Irish contingent with a 97th-place finish as he shot a 253 (86-86-91).
The Irish will return to action this coming weekend, March 23-24, when they participate in the Pepsi-Cola Invitational in Pottsboro, Texas.
FINAL TEAM RESULTS (54 holes): 1. William and Mary 290-297-296-883, t2. West Florida 296-285-303-884, Louisville 299-290-295-884, 4. Marshall University 291-290-305-886, 5. Elon 298-293-296-887, 6. Ball State 300-298-291-889, t7. Indiana 292-296-303-891, Xavier 291-298-296-894, 9. Methodist College 300-298-296-894, t10. Michigan 298-300-297-895, Wichita State 296-294-305-895, 12. Eastern Kentucky 293-303-305-901, t13. Iowa State 298-307-297-902, Rhode Island 293-308-301-902, 15. Penn State 303-297-306-906, 16. Kent State 299-309-308-916, 17. Notre Dame 304-306-308-918, 18. Marquette 313-312-321-946, 19. Cincinnati 311-316-325-952, 20. Northern Illinois 318-311-328-957.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 100): 1. Justin Ragognetti (William and Mary) 73-68-72-213, 2. Brian Perry (Marshall) 70-72-72-214, 3. Mark Anderson (Louisville) 73-69-73-215, t4. Steve Ratay (Notre Dame) 73-68-76-217, Bryan Clarke (West Florida) 71-70-76, t6. Ty Harris (West Florida) 72-68-78-218, Andrew Chapman (Michigan) 71-74-73-218, Ryan Loucks (Elon) 75-69-74-218, 9. Jason Novascone (Wichita State) 75-71-73-219, 10. Mike Townsend (Methodist) 73-78-69-220.
NOTRE DAME GOLFERS (of 100): t4 Steve Ratay 73-68-76-217, t64. Chris Whitten 79-74-78-231, t68, K.C. Wiseman 73-83-76-232, t84. Steve Colnitis 79-81-78-238, 97. Kevin Ricci 86-86-81-253.