Oct. 5, 2004
Franklin, Ind. – The Fighting Irish women’s golf team erased a one-stroke deficit in the final round of play and pulled away in winning the Shoot-Out at the Legends by 12 strokes on Tuesday afternoon. Notre Dame captured its second consecutive tournament victory by firing a three round total of 901 (298-304-299) at the par 72, 6,134-yard Legends Golf Course. The Irish dominated the 12-team field, which included runner-up Michigan, the 11th-ranked team according to golfstat.com.
Notre Dame, who is ranked 18th in the latest golfstat.com poll, had a total team effort in winning at the Legends just as the team had two weeks ago in their victorious performance at the Central Regional Preview. Junior co-captain Katie Brophy (74-75-78) (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) and sophomore Stacy Brown (74-78-75) (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands) led the way for the Irish as they each placed in a tie for eighth overall with an 11-over par 227. Illinois’ Megan Godfrey carded a six-over par 222 to win the individual title.
“I’m really proud of how well we did,” said Brown, who has been a part of the scoring-five for the past two wins. “Personally, I thought I did well. I met my expectations and I just want to take what I learned this week and carry it over into the next tournament. The team is really positive right now and we have a lot of momentum going for us and we just need to go with it.”
Sophomore Noriko Nakazaki (Hanover Park, Ill./Hoffman Estates) overcame an opening round total of 84 to post consecutive scores of 73 and 72 to finish strong in 13th with a 229. Suzie Hayes (Dublin, Ireland/Loreto College) was one-shot in back of her Irish teammate Nakazaki as she carried her consistent play into day two. The junior co-captain fired an eight-over par 230 (76-78-76), which placed her in a three-way tie for 14th.
Also placing in the top-25 for the Irish was junior Lauren Gebauer (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington), who carded a 235 (74-79-82) to finish in a tie for 24th. Freshman Jane Lee (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./Peninsula) had a solid third round as she carded a four-over par 76 to end the tournament with a 242 (80-86-76), which placed her 41st.
Notre Dame trailed Illinois State by one-stroke coming into Tuesday’s final round. The Cardinals dropped into a fourth-place tie in the final standings, while Michgan jumped from fifth to second. The Wolverines finished 40 strokes better than the Irish at the Lady Northern Invitational on Sept. 11-12. Michigan won the Lady Northern, while Notre Dame finished in a tie for eighth. Since that tournament the Irish have played solid and consistent golf.
“I really can’t single anyone out,” stated Irish head coach Debby King, who has been pleased with the recent play of her squad. “We are so deep. Everybody has been pushing eachother and that’s been great to see. So many of the girls have improved and Noriko and Katie keep playing their game.” The victory gives King her eighth tournament crown of her Notre Dame tenure, which began in 2001.
Continue to follow the Notre Dame women’s golf team throughout the 2004-05 campaign by logging on to www.und.com or by calling the Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.
The Shoot-Out at the Legends – Final Results:
Team Scores (final 54-hole totals): 1. Notre Dame 298-304-299=901, 2. Michigan 307-306-300=913, 3. Campbell 303-311-300=914, 4t. Kent State 309-303-303=915, 4t. Illinois State 295-306-314=915, 6. Illinois 306-312-305=923, 7. Toledo 308-302-316=926, 8. Wisconsin 309-313-307=929, 9. Minnesota 321-327-311=959, 10. Indiana 333-315-313=961, 11. Eastern Michigan 332-315-335=982, 12. IUPUI 351-352-340=1,043.
Top-10 Golfers plus all Notre Dame scores (final 54-hole totals): 1. Megan Godfrey (Illinois) 72-78-72=222, 2t. Sofia Gorelik (Campbell) 74-75-74=223, 2t. Gabby Wedding (Kent State) 73-73-77=223, 4t. Kaila Fuller (Illinois State) 76-75-75=226, 4t. Brianna Broderick (Michigan) 74-74-78=226, 4t. Laura Olin (Michigan) 75-80-71=226, 4t. Joanna Periversoff (Toledo) 76-73-77=226, 8t. Katie Brophy (Notre Dame) 74-75-78=227, 8t. Stacy Brown (Notre Dame) 74-78-75=227, 8t. Camila Lopez (Campbell) 75-80-72=227, 13. Noriko Nakazaki (Notre Dame) 84-73-72=229, 14t. Suzie Hayes (Notre Dame) 76-78-76=230, 24t. Lauren Gebauer (Notre Dame) 74-79-82=235, 41. Jane Lee (Notre Dame) 80-86-76=242.
— ND –