April 20, 2010
PALM HARBOR, Fla. – PALM HARBOR, Fla. – The Notre Dame women’s golf team wrapped up play at the 2010 BIG EAST Conference Championship on Tuesday afternoon, finishing third in the seven-team field with a three-round score of 72-over par 936 (320-313-303) on the Innisbrook Resort/Island Course (par 72/6,205 yards) in Palm Harbor, Fla.
The Fighting Irish carded the lowest final-round score on Tuesday with a 303 (+15) and ended the three-day event 16 strokes back of tournament champion Louisville. South Florida finished second at 928 (+64), eight shots ahead of Notre Dame.
Senior Annie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) was the top Fighting Irish individual at this year’s conference tournament, tying for second place at 10-over par 226 (80-72-74), six shots behind BIG EAST medalist Sara-Maude Juneau of Louisville. Brophy played the front nine at two-over par and followed with an even par back nine. She notched a birdie on the par-five 11th hole. With her tie for second, Brophy made a strong case to be voted onto the All-BIG EAST team for the fourth time in her Irish career. She would join Noriko Nakazaki as just the second player in program history to earn the distinction in all four seasons if she is named to the 2010 All-BIG EAST team.
Becca Huffer (Denver, Colo./Littleton) turned in a final round three-over par 75 to finish in a tie for seventh. Her final round was a tale of two nines, as she was four-over par on the day at the turn but the sophomore rallied to card a one-under par back nine. In fact, she played her final 11 holes of the tournament at one-under par.
Sophomore Katie Allare (Phoenix, Ariz./Xavier Prep) and junior Katie Conway (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) turned in five-over par 77’s to round out final round scoring for the Irish. Allare finished tied for 15th in her first career team tournament start. Her final round was highlighted by a birdie at the par-five 15th. Conway had 11 pars and a birdie on the day and finished tied for 25th.
Junior So-Hyun Park (Seoul, South Korea/Bradenton Prep) carded an 84 and finished tied with Conway in 25th-place.
The Irish now set their sights on NCAA Regional play. Selected teams will learn their fate on Monday, April 26 when the fields for the three regional sites are announced by the NCAA selection committee. Teams will compete for the right to advance to the national championship in Wilmington, N.C.
The three regional sites for the 2010 tournament will be the Otter Creek Golf Club (Central Regional hosted by Indiana University), the Ironwood Country Club (East Regional hosted by East Carolina) and the Stanford Golf Course (West Regional hosted by Stanford University). Regional action will be played May 6-8, 2010. The eight lowest scoring teams, as well as the two lowest scoring individuals not on an advancing teams, from each of the three regional championships will qualify for the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship. The championship will be held May 18-21 at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C.
Notre Dame ScoresT-2. Annie Brophy (80-72-74-226)T-7. Becca Huffer (81-78-75-234)T-15. Katie Allare (78-84-77-239)T-25. So-Hyun Park (81-81-84-246)T-25. Katie Conway (87-82-77-246)
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