Sept. 2, 2001

Notre Dame, Ind. – Senior Steve Ratay (Arlington Heights, Ill.) owns a one-stroke lead over freshman Steve Colnitis (Baldwin, Md.) and a two-stroke lead over freshman K.C. Wiseman (South Bend, Ind.) and sophomore Gavin Ferlic (South Bend, Ind.) after 36 holes of Notre Dame’s annual campus championship at the Warren Golf Course.

For the women, junior Terri Taibl (Elm Grove, Wisc.) has a three-stroke edge over sophomore Shannon Byrne (Arlington Heights, Ill.) at the halfway point of the tournament. The third round will be played on Saturday, Sept. 8 beginning at 9:00 a.m. and the event is free and open to the public.

Ratay kept his narrow lead after firing his second consecutive 73, giving him a two-day total of 146. Colnitis put the pressure on Ratay by firing the low-round of the tournament with a 68. The freshman went out in 33 on the front nine and finished with a 35 on the back. He owns a 36-hole total of 147 after his opening round of 79 on Saturday.

The South Bend natives, Wiseman and Ferlic, played their second solid day as Wiseman shot a 73 and Ferlic a 72 for 148 totals to finish the day just two strokes off Ratay’s pace.

Rounding out the top ten for the men were Chris Whitten (Sr., Rockford, Mich.) who is just three strokes behind Ratay with rounds of 73 and 76 for a 149. Kevin Ricci (Sr., Winter Park, Fla.) is in sixth with a 152 total (75-77). William McCaughan (So., Key Biscayne, Fla.) is seventh with a 153 mark (79-74). Andy Vitt (So., St. Louis, Mo.) shot a second round of 76 for a 156 total which puts him eighth. Brandon Lunke (Jr., San Antonio, Tex.) goes into the final 36 holes in ninth with a 157 (81-76) while Patrick Mokris (Jr., Orlando, Fla.) and Fernando Herrera (Jr., Lexington, Ken.) are tied for 10th, 12 strokes behind Ratay with 158.

On the women’s side, Taibl turned in her second consecutive round of 78 to give her a 156 total after 36 holes. The top challenger for the junior came from Byrne who turned in the best round of the tournament for the women with a 74 on Sunday. That puts her three behind Taibl with a 159 total after her opening round 85.

Kristin McMurtrie (Sr., Calgary, Alb.) who started the day two strokes behind Taibl struggled to an 84 which gives her a 164 total after 36 holes and puts her eight strokes off the pace. She is tied for fourth with freshman Karen Lotta (Los Angeles, Calif.) who bounced back from an 86 on Saturday to shoot 78 on Sunday for a 164. Jeanne Murphy (So., Alexandria, Va.) and Casey Rotella (Fr., Keswick, Va.) round out the top six golfers as they are tied for fifth with 168 totals. Murphy shot an 81 on Sunday while Rotella turned in a 79.

2001 NOTRE DAME MEN’S AND WOMEN’S CAMPUS GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP 36-hole standings, Sept. 2 … Warren Golf Course

MEN’S INDIVIDUAL SCORING (field of 23): 1. Steve Ratay (73-73-146), 2. Steve Colnitis (79-68-147), 3. K.C. Wiseman (75-73-148), Gavin Ferlic (76-72-148), 5. Chris Whitten (73-76-149), 6. Kevin Ricci (75-77-152), 7. William McCaughan (79-74-153), 8. Andy Vitt (80-76-156), 9. Brandon Lunke (81-76-157), 10. Patrick Mokris (76-82-158), Fernando Herrera (82-76-158), 12. Andy Kent (79-80-159), Donald Wolf (78-81-159), 14. Brent Haydon (79-81-160), 15. Jarrett Bingemann (78-84-162), 16. Ryan Marshall (79-84-163), Mike Hastings (81-82-163), 18. Rory Cleary (87-78-165), 19. David Lubnik (87-80-167), 20. David Finocchio (87-81-168), Timothy Kiley (91-77-168), 22. John Mauro (90-94-184), 23. Aaron Roth (WD)

WOMEN’S INDIVIDUAL SCORING (field of 16): 1. Terri Taibl (78-78-156), 2. Shannon Byrne (85-74-159), Kristin McMurtrie (80-84-164), Karen Lotta (86-78-164), 5. Jeanne Murphy (87-81-168), Casey Rotella (89-79-168), 7. Lauren Fuchs (89-80-169), 8. Rebecca Rogers (81-89-170), 9. Michelle Halverson (85-90-175), Shelby Strong (90-85-175), 11. Nina Siggins (91-87-178), 12. Emily Anderson (84-95-179), 13. Jenny Lynch (91-90-181), 14. Saira Kahn (94-90-184), 15. Jennifer DeWitt (97-93-190), 16. Randi Belisomo (103-91-194)