Noriko Nakazaki paced the Irish with a one-over par 73 on Tuesday during the second round of the UNLV Spring Invitational.

Fighting Irish Tied For Second After Two Rounds Of Tyson/Embassy Suites Invitational

Oct. 17, 2005

ROGERS, Ark. – The Notre Dame women’s golf team fired a 15-over par 303 during Monday’s second round at the Tyson/Embassy Suites Invitational to currently reside in a tie for second place with a 602 (+26) total heading into Tuesday’s third and final round at the par 72, 6,013-yard Pinnacle Country Club Golf Course. Junior Noriko Nakazaki (Hanover Park, Ill./Hoffman Estates) led the Irish during round two with a one-over par 73. She and her senior teammate Katie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) are currently tied for eighth overall with 148 (+4) totals.

Arkansas, the host school for the event and the third-ranked team in the country according to Golfstat.com, continues to lead the 16-team field with a 14-over par 590 total. Kentucky, who is tied with the Irish for second, shot the top round of the day, a three-over par 291. Amanda Costner of Kansas and Courtney Mahon of Arkansas are both tied for first with 142 (-2) totals.

“We played with a howling wind today,” stated Irish head coach Debby King following the day’s round. “We thought going in that a 305 would be a good score and we shot a 303.”

Notre Dame sophomore Jane Lee (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./Peninsula) carded a four-over par 76 on Monday to now reside in a tie for 16th with a seven-over 151 (75-76). Freshman Lisa Maunu (St. Thomas, Ontario/Parkside Collegiate Institute) bettered her opening round score of 80 with a five-over par 77 on Monday to carry a 157, which places her in a tie at 44th, into the third round.

Senior Lauren Gebauer (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) notched a nine-over par 81 on the day to bring her two-round total to 159 (78-81). She is tied for 54th overall. Fellow senior Suzie Hayes (Dublin, Ireland/Loreto College), who is playing as an individual entrant, knocked two shots off of her first round total of 81 with a 79 during round two. Her score of 160 places her in a tie for 60th.

“Noriko (Nakazaki), Katie (Brophy) and Jane (Lee) are playing really consistent and I am proud of them,” King said. “This is a tough course. Shooting a 299 as a team yesterday was better than the 295 that we shot at the Legends (of Indiana) course. The team is really confident now and they are working on their putting because they felt that let them down today. We hope that tomorrow will be our turn to shoot a 291.”

Tuesday’s third and final round will get underway with a shotgun start beginning at 9:00 a.m. (CT). Live results of the tournament are available at Golfstat.com. For additional information please log on to und.com or call the Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.

Tyson/Embassy Suites Invitational (Pinnacle Country Club Golf Course – Rogers, Ark., Par 72, 6,013-yards)

Top-10 Team Scores (36-hole totals): 1t. Arkansas 590 (291-299), 2t. Kentucky 602 (311-291), 2t. Notre Dame 602 (299-303), 4. Iowa 606 (304-302), 5. Nebraska 611 (298-313), 6. Kansas 612 (303-309), 7. Augusta State 613 (303-310), 8. Illinois State 615 (313-302), 9. Kansas State 621 (306-315), 10. Wisconsin 623 (307-316).

Top-10 Golfers (36-hole totals): 1t. Amanda Costner (Kansas) 142 (70-72), 1t. Courtney Mahon (Arkansas) 142 (71-71), 3. Ashley Medders* (Arkansas) 143 (72-71), 4t. Stacy Lewis (Arkansas) 145 (72-73), 4t. Samantha Richdale (Illinois State) 145 (73-72), 6t. Sally Hinton (Missouri State) 146 (74-72), 6t. Amy Riepma (Iowa) 146 (73-73), 8t. Katie Brophy (Notre Dame) 148 (71-77), 8t. Tyrette Metzendorf (Iowa) 148 (75-73), 8t. Noriko Nakazaki (Notre Dame) 148 (75-73).

Other Notre Dame Scores (36-hole totals): 16t. Jane Lee 151 (75-76), 44t. Lisa Maunu 157 (80-77), 54t. Lauren Gebauer 159 (78-81), 60t. Suzie Hayes* 160 (81-79).

*-playing as an individual entrant

— ND –