Sophomore Annie Brophy carries a 74.67 stroke average into the Wolverine Invitational.

Notre Dame In 17th-Place After First Round Of UNLV Invitational

March 12, 2007

BOULDER CITY, Nev. – The Notre Dame women’s golf team carded a 17-over par 305 on Monday to currently reside in 17th place after the first round of the UNLV Spring Invitational at the par 72, 6,199-yard Boulder Creek Golf Club. No. 14 BYU leads the 18-team field with an eight-under par 280. Senior co-captain Noriko Nakazaki (Hanover Park, Ill./Hoffman Estates) paced the Irish with a three-over par 75. She is eight shots off the pace heading into the second round.

BYU’s Rachel Newren leads the 96-golfer field after posting a five-under par 67 on the day. Jodi Ewart from New Mexico and New Mexico State’s Lehua Wise are both one shot back. Nakazaki is tied for 38th overall for the Fighting Irish.

No. 15 New Mexico is four shots behind BYU, while Indiana registered a 285 and is five shots off the lead. The Irish are just seven strokes away from seventh place after the first 18 holes of play. BYU is the highest-ranked team in the field.

Notre Dame freshman Annie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) is one shot behind her teammate Nakazaki with a four-over par 76 and is tied for 50th. Fellow freshman Julie Kim (Bayside, N.Y./Bayside) and sophomore Lisa Maunu (St. Thomas, Ontario/Collegiate Parkside Institute) both carded a 77 and are tied for 60th. Rounding out the Irish lineup is freshman Kristin Wetzel (Middletown, N.Y./Hilton Head Prep), who shot a nine-over par 81 and is tied for 88th.

The second round of the UNLV Spring Invitational will take place on Tuesday. The third and final round is Wednesday. Live results of the tournament are available at Golfstat.com. For additional information, log on to und.com or call the Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.

UNLV Spring Invitational (Boulder Creek Golf Club – Boulder City, Nev. Par 72, 6,199-yards)

Team Scores (18-hole totals): 1. BYU 280, 2. New Mexico 284, 3. Indiana 285, 4. New Mexico State 291, 5. Idaho 292, 6. Long Beach State 296, 7t. San Francisco 298, 7t. San Diego State 298, 7t. Nebraska 298, 7t. Texas Tech 298, 11t. Fresno State 299, 11t. UNLV 299, 11t. Campbell 299, 14t. Iowa 300, 14t. Washington State 300, 14t. Boise State 300, 17. Notre Dame 305, 18. Eastern Washington 317.

Top-7 Golfers (out of 96) (18-hole totals): 1. Rachel Newren (BYU) 67, 2. Jodi Ewart (New Mexico) 68, 2t. Lehua Wise (New Mexico State) 68, 4t. Amy Eneroth (Washington State) 69, 4t. Kay Hoey (Long Beach State) 69, 4t. Natalia Jimenez (BYU) 69, 4t. Alejandra Shaw (Campbell) 69

Notre Dame Scores (18-hole totals): 38t. Noriko Nakazaki 75, 50t. Annie Brophy 76, 60t. Julie Kim 77, 60t. Lisa Maunu 77, 88t. Kristin Wetzel 81