April 3, 2011
ATHENS, Ga. – University of Notre Dame women’s golf team continued to improve each round at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic in Athens, Ga., as the Irish posted a 284 in the final 18 holes of the tournament Sunday. Nicole Zhang (Calgary, Alberta/Bishop Carroll) improved her third round by four strokes as the freshman recorded a 71 (-1) for a three-round total of 222 (+8) and a 15th-place finish.
“It was a unique because we played two formats of scoring,” head coach Susan Holt said. “The first day we didn’t grasp the concept of the two scoring formats, but after the first day of play we altered our thinking. From there we played two-under par. I am pleased because no one defeated us that should have. Overall there was a great team effort and everyone stepped up when she needed to.”
Zhang was able to improve her score by carding three birdies in the third round, one on the seventh, ninth and 17th holes.
Katie Conway (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) finished the tournament in a tie for 32nd place after posting a 77 (+5) in the final round for a combined 226 (+10) 54-hole total. That score is a season-best for Conway and was her best 54-hole since the Cardinal Cup in the fall of 2007, which was also a 226 (+10).
So-Hyun Park (Seoul, South Korea/Bradenton Preparatory Academy) posted a two-over par 74 in the final round to finish in 35th place. The senior compiled a three-round score of 227 (+11).
Rounding out the Irish score are junior Becca Huffer (Denver, Colo./Littleton) and Kristina Nhim (Cypress, Calif./Cypress). Huffer registered a 78 in the third round for a three-day total of 232 (+16), while Nhim carded her best round of the tournament, posting a 74 (+2) to finish in 73rd place with a score of 233 (+17).
The Irish return to action Sunday, April 17 for the BIG EAST Championship in Palm Harbor, Fla.
Top-10 Team Scores
1. Alabama (286-291-283-860/-4)
T2. Duke (291-296-281-868/+4)
T2. Purdue (284-297-287-868/+4)
4. Arkansas (294-298-277-869/+5)
5. Florida (300-293-277-870/+6)
T6. Georgia (291-294-286-871/+7)
T6. Auburn (291-294-286-871/+7)
8. NOTRE DAME (302-286-284-872/+8)
9. Wake Forest (294-297-285-876/+12)
10. Michigan State (296-296-286-878/+14)
Notre Dame Scores
T15. Nicole Zhang (78-75-71-222/+8)
T32. Katie Conway (77-72-77-226/+10)
T35. So-Hyun Park (78-75-74-227/+11)
T63. Becca Huffer (78-76-78-232/+16)
T73. Kristina Nhim (82-77-74-233/+17)
–ND–