March 13, 2004
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s golf team fell from third to seventh place at the inaugural St. Croix Collegiate Classic after shooting a second-round 327 at the U.S. Virgin Islands tournament on Saturday. The Irish have a 36-hole total of 643 (316-327) in the 14-team event and are 36 strokes behind Southern Methodist, which continues to be in first place after shooting a round of 311 to go with a 296 first-round score for a 607 total. The Mustangs have a 13-shot lead over second-place Baylor’s mark of 620 (306-314). Notre Dame owns a four-shot lead over Illinois, which sits in eighth place, and is seven strokes away from three teams tied for third with two-day totals of 636. The 54-hole tournament, hosted by Xavier University, is being played on the par-72, 6,020-yard Robert Trent Jones, Sr., course at the Carambola Golf Club.
The top round turned in by an Irish golfer on the second day of play was a four-over par 76 by sophomore Lauren Gebauer (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) who is playing as individual in Notre Dame’s spring-opener. Gebauer has a 36-hole total of 155 (79-76) and is tied in ninth place with four other golfers, seven strokes behind tournament-leader Kristina Rothengatte of Southern Methodist, who shot rounds of 73 and 75 for a 148 total.
Leading the Irish scoring five is sophomore Katie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) as she shot an 81 in the second round after firing a 78 in the first 18 holes to give her a two-round score of 159, putting her in a 22nd-place tie heading into Sunday’s final round.
Following Brophy, junior Karen Lotta (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) and freshman Stacy Brown (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands HS) are next for Notre Dame with 36-hole totals of 162 and 163, respectively. Lotta turned in rounds of 78 and 84, placing her tied for 33rd, and Brown had rounds of 80 and 83.
Rounding out the Irish scoring lineup is freshman Noriko Nakazaki (Hanover Park, Ill./Hoffman Estates) and senior co-captain Shannon Byrne (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove). With a 166 total for 36 holes, Nakazaki recovered from shooting the worst round of her young collegiate career on Friday (87) to card a 79 in the second round, the lowest total among Notre Dame’s top five on Saturday. Byrne had a score of 88 on the second day to go with an opening-round 80, giving her a 36-hole mark of 168.
Along with Gebauer, sophomores Suzie Hayes (Dublin, Ireland/Loreto College) and Sarah Bassett (Spokane, Wash./Lewis and Clark) are also participating as individuals. Hayes turned in rounds of 76 and 82 for a 158 total, leaving her in a tie for 19th, and Bassett is in a 28th-place tie after two rounds with a score of 161 (81-80).
The St. Croix Collegiate Classic resumes play on Sunday morning, March 14, with a shotgun start at 6:00 (EST). Results will be available on www.und.com following the final 18 holes of play on Sunday.
– ND –
TEAM RESULTS (36-hole totals): 1. Southern Methodist 607 (296-311); 2. Baylor 620 (306-314); 3.(tie) Xavier 636 (326-310), Boston College 636 (326-310), Illinois State 636 (318-318); 6. Texas Tech 638 (317-321); 7. Notre Dame 643 (316-327); 8. Illinois 647 (319-328); 9. Wyoming 651 (328-323); 10. Texas State 659 (336-323); 11. Texas Pan-American 670 (342-328); 12. Wichita State 671 (332-339); 13. Longwood University 678 (346-332); 14. Rend Lake 738 (368-370).
TOP 13 INDIVIDUALS (of 82): 1. Kristina Rothengatte (Southern Methodist) 148 (73-75); 2. Kori Goulet (Boston College) 151 (78-73); 3.(tie) Samantha Richdale (Illinois St.) 152 (76-76), Ashlie Rose (Illinois St.) 152 (76-76); 5.(tie) Megan Godfrey (Illinois) 154 (79-75), Missy Ryan (Southern Methodist) 154 (73-81), Jessica Steward (Boston College) 154 (78-76), Laura Cross (Southern Methodist) 154 (75-79); 9.(tie) Alison Walshe (Boston College) 155 (77-78), Josefin Svenningsson (Baylor) 155 (76-79), Marla Cox (Illinois) 155 (77-78), Ann Rehnholm (Baylor) 155 (79-76), Lauren Gebauer* (Notre Dame) 155 (79-76).
NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (of 82): 9.(tie) Lauren Gebauer* 155 (79-76); 19.(tie) Suzie Hayes* 158 (76-82); 22.(tie) Katie Brophy 159 (78-81); 28.(tie) Sarah Bassett* 161 (81-80); 33.(tie) Karen Lotta 162 (78-84); 38.(tie) Stacy Brown 163 (80-83); 45th.(tie) Noriko Nakazaki 166 (87-79); 48.(tie) Shannon Byrne 168 (80-88).
* – Individual entrant