Oct. 9, 2001

Franklin, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s golf team closed out it’s final round of play at the Legends of Indiana Golf Tournament on Tuesday with a 34-over par total of 322 to finish 19th with a 54-hole total of 956. The University of Michigan came from behind in the final round making up six strokes on the University of Wisconsin to win the tournament with an 877 total at the par 72, 6,076-yard Legends Golf Course.

The Wolverines fired a team total of 293 on Tuesday afternoon for the lone round of the final day of play under 300 to card a 54-hole total of 877 (290-294-293) to edge Wisconsin by two strokes. The Badgers who went into the final round of play with a six stroke lead finished with an 879 total (289-289-301). Kent State finished third with an 885 (294-291-300), Indiana was fourth with an 898 (295-299-304) and Texas A&M rounded out the top five with a 905 (302-294-309).

Individually, Notre Dame’s top finisher was senior Kristin McMurtrie (Calgary, Alb.) who tied for 59th with a 235 total. After rounds of 75 and 76 on Monday, McMurtrie fired an 84 for her closing 18 holes. She finished 23 strokes behind the tourney’s co-champions, Martina Gillen of Kent State and Kim Benedict of Michigan. They each fired 54-hole totals of 212. Gillen went into the final round with a two stroke lead on Benedict, but shot an even par 72 while Benedict was two-under with a 70.

Wisconsin had the third and fourth place finishers as Emily Hendricks was third with a one-under par 215 (71-70-74) and Katie Connelly finished one-over par with a 217 (71-73-73). Purdue’s Kari Damron was fifth with a 219 (74-70-75).

For the Irish, freshman Karen Lotta (Los Angeles, Calif.) had Notre Dame’s best round of the final 18 holes as she shot a 77 to give her a 237 (76-84-77) for the tournament. Lotta finished in a tie for 66th. Shannon Byrne (Arlington Heights, Ill.) tied for 81st with a 240 (81-79-80), Lauren Fuchs (Sr., Louisville, Ken.) tied for 90th with a 245 (78-86-81) and Jeanne Murphy (Alexandria, Va.) was 96th with a 258 on rounds of 80, 87 and 91.

The Notre Dame women’s team closes out its fall schedule on Monday and Tuesday, October 15 and 16 when the Irish travel to Lawrence, Kans. to play in the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational at the Alvamar Golf Club.

FINAL TEAM RESULTS (54-hole totals): 1. Michigan 290-294-293-877, 2. Wisconsin 289-289-301-879, 3. Kent State 294-291-300-885, 4. Indiana 295-299-304-898, 5. Texas A&M 302-294-309-905, 6. Purdue 297-305-304-906, 7. Illinois 299-308-300-907, 8. Missouri 298-301-310-909, 9. Minnesota 304-305-303-912, 10. Iowa 302-305-307-914, t11. Penn State 296-309-316-921, Iowa State 305-303-313-921, 13. Louisville 301-304-319-924, 14. Campbell 303-305-318-926, 15. Toledo 297-311-322-930, 16. Kansas 307-311-321-939, 17. Arkansas 319-312-320-951, 18. Wichita State 317-313-324-954, 19. Notre Dame 309-325-322-956.

TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 96): t1. Martina Gillen (Kent State) 71-69-72-212, Kim Benedict (Michigan) 68-74-70-212, 3. Emily Hendricks (Wisconsin) 71-70-74-215, Katie Connelly (Wisconsin) 71-73-73-217, 5. Kari Damron (Purdue) 74-70-75-219, t6. Misia Lemanski (Michigan) 75-70-75-220, Mary Lidester (Indiana) 73-72-75-220, Nisha Sadekar (Missouri) 70-74-76-220, t9. Laura Olin (Michigan) 72-76-73-221, Jan Dowling (Kent State) 70-75-76-221.

NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (of 96): t59. Kristin McMurtrie 75-76-84-235, t66. Karen Lotta 76-84-77-237, t81. Shannon Byrne 81-79-80-240, t90. Lauren Fuchs 78-86-81-245, 96. Jeanne Murphy 80-87-91-258.