March 12, 2003
Tampa, Fla. – The Notre Dame women’s golf team continues its spring break in Florida moving from the eastern side of the state to the western as they play in the 17th annual Snowbird Invitational hosted by Northern Illinois University. The tournament is being played at the par 72, 6,146-yard Pebblecreek Golf Course and Country Club in Tampa. The 36-hole tournament features 21 teams. Notre Dame finished second at last year’s tournament, 17 strokes behind three-time winner Arkansas State University.
Dates and Times: The Northern Illinois Snowbird Invitational will feature 18 holes of play on March 13-14. Both rounds will begin at 9:00 a.m. with a shotgun start at the Pebblecreek Golf Course and Country Club.
The Teams: The 21-team tournament field includes: Baldwin Wallace College, Ball State, Bowling Green, Carthage College, The Citadel, Creighton, Evansville, Gonzaga, University of Indianapolis, James Madison, Lynn University, Marshall, Methodist College, Missouri-Kansas City, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, St. Mary’s, Southern Illinois, Southern Mississippi, Texas-Pan American and Toledo.
Irish Lineup: Coach Debby King’s entire roster will see action in the Snowbird Invitational on Thursday and Friday. Five golfers participating among the scoring five and the other four playing as individual entrants. Expected to be in Notre Dame’s starting five are: Sarah Bassett (Fr., Spokane, Wash.), Katie Brophy (Fr., Spokane, Wash.), Karen Lotta (So., Los Angeles, Calif.), Shannon Byrne (Jr., Arlington Heights, Ill.) and Rebecca Rogers (Jr., Alpharetta, Ga.). The remaining four members of the roster who will play as individuals are: Lauren Barbir (Fr., Montgomery, Texas), Suzie Hayes (Fr., Dublin, Ireland), Lauren Gebauer (Fr., Columbus, Ohio) and Terri Taibl (Sr., Elm Grove, Wis.).
Last Tournament: Notre Dame just finished up playing at the Peggy Kirk Bell Invitational in Orlando where the Irish finished eighth in the 13 team field. The Irish shot a 36-hole total of 631 after rounds of 314 and 317. The first round of the tournament on Monday was cancelled due to heavy rains on Sunday. Leading the way for the Irish was Katie Brophy who won her first collegiate tournament with a three-over par 147 after shooting rounds of 73 and 74. Brophy sank a 12-foot par put on the 18th hole to seal the victory. Karen Lotta and Lauren Gebauer finished in a tie for 25th as both golfers shot identical rounds of 78 for a 12-over par 156. Suzie Hayes tied for 27th just one stroke back with a 157 (76-81). Gebauer and Hayes played as individual entrants.
Irish Leaders: Three freshmen lead the Irish as they go into the third tournament of the spring. Sarah Bassett is the team leader with a 78.75 average in 20 rounds of play. She is followed by Katie Brophy (78.87 in 23 rounds) and Lauren Gebauer (80.24 in 17 rounds of play). Karen Lotta ranks fourth on the team with an 80.35 mark in 20 rounds while Shannon Byrne (81.17) and Rebecca Rogers (81.39) have career-best averages after 23 rounds in the fall. Suzie Hayes (80.88), Terri Taibl (81.64) and Lauren Barbir (83.00) played well in their first action of the spring at the Peggy Kirk Bell Invitational.
Tournament Results: Results will be available on the Notre Dame website at und.com after 10:00 p.m. on each day of tournament play.
Next For The Irish: The Irish return to South Bend before heading south to Boerne, Texas on March 23-25 when they play in the 54-hole Baylor/Tapito Springs Shootout.