March 17, 2001
Citrus Springs, Fla. – The University of Notre Dame men’s golf team finished the first day of the El Diablo Intercollegiate tournament with a 36-hole total of 29-over par 605 to tie for 18th with the University of Kentucky. That put the Irish 26 strokes behind the University of Toledo as the Rockets fired a 36-hole total of 579 (301-278).
The Irish played the first round at the 6,777-yard, par 72 El Diablo Golf and Country Club course in 10-over par 298 which placed them sixth after 18 holes. Notre Dame then followed with a 307 in the second round to finish with a 605.
Toledo leads the University of Rhode Island by four strokes (297-286-583) while Miami of Ohio (292-292-584), the University of Illinois (299-286-585) and Baylor University (289-297-586) round out the top five.
Leading Notre Dame’s golfers were senior Alex Kent (Lambare, Paraguay) and junior Steve Ratay (Arlington Heights, Ill.) who played the first 36 holes in four-over par 148 and are tied for 32nd overall. Kent and Ratay each fired opening rounds of one-under par 71 before shooting 77 in the second round of play. The 148 total puts them eight strokes off the pace set by Rice University’s Scott Phillips who shot a four-under par 140 (68-72) on the opening day.
Rounding out Notre Dame’s scoring were senior Pat Schaffler (Dallas, Tex.) who goes into Sunday’s final 18 holes tied for 54th with a seven-over par 151 (76-75). Sophomore Kyle Monfort (Dublin, Ohio) finished at 102nd with a 36-hole total of 158 (80-78) and freshman Peter Rivas (New Orleans, La.) tied for 111th with a 162 total (83-79).
The Irish will look to move up in the standings on Sunday when they play the final 18 holes at the El Diablo Intercollegiate with a 7:00 a.m. start.
TEAM RESULTS (36 hole totals): 1. Toledo 301-278-579, 2. Rhode Island 297-286-583, 3. Miami (OH) 292-292-584, 4. Illinois 299-286-585, 5. Baylor 289-297-586, 6. Louisville 293-297-590, Penn State 301-289-590, 8. West Florida 295-296-591, 9. Wichita State 302-290-592, 10. Elon College 301-294-595, 11. Rice University 301-295-596, 12. Indiana 304-295-599, 13. Iowa State 305-295-600, 14. Eastern Kentucky 311-291-602, Wisconsin 300-302-602, 16. Xavier 305-298-603, 17. Nebraska 304-300-604, 18. Notre Dame 298-307-605, Kentucky 306-299-605, 20. Michigan 306-300-606, 21. Marshall University 313-296-609, 22. Northern Illinois 309-305-614, 23. Cincinnati 325-298-623, 24. James Madison University 313-314-627.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 120): 1. Scott Phillips (Rice) 68-72-140, 2. Brad Heaven (Toledo) 75-67-142, Sean McTernan (Toledo) 71-71-142, Matt Abbott (Penn State) 74-68-142, 5. Mike Carbone (Rhode Island) 72-71-143, Jeff Lound (Illinois) 71-72-143, 7. Michael Sims (Rhode Island) 72-72-144, Chris Campbell (Louisville) 71-73-144, Andy Latowski (Penn State) 74-70-144, Ryan Loucks (Elon College) 74-70-144, Lee Curry (Miami, OH) 70-74-144, Matt Makinson (Xavier) 70-74-144.
NOTRE DAME SCORES: t32. Alex Kent 71-77-148, t32. Steve Ratay 71-77-148, t54. Pat Schaffler 76-75-151, 102. Kyle Monfort 80-78-158, t111. Peter Rivas 83-79-162.