May 7, 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Notre Dame women’s golf team combined to shoot a 316 in the first round of the NCAA Central Regional at the Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio. With the plus-28 mark, the Irish are in 18th-place. Freshman Becca Huffer (Denver, Colo.) led Notre Dame with a plus-four 76.
Huffer, currently tied for 30th on the individual leaderboard, had a strong finish as she was able to card a plus-one 37 on her final nine holes of play, including a birdie on the par-five fourth hole. She had 12 pars but registered five bogeys as well.
Sophomore So-Hyun Park (Seoul, South Korea) shot a plus-five 77 to tie for 47th-place after one round of play. Park, named the program’s first All-American following the 2008 season, had an up and down day that included three birdies, nine pars, four bogeys and two double bogeys.
Senior Lisa Maunu (St. Thomas, Ontario) was Notre Dame’s third scorer of the afternoon. The 2009 BIG EAST medalist shot a plus-nine 81 in her first round. She carded birdies on the fourth and sixth holes, both of which are par-fives’s, and added seven pars. But she also had seven bogeys and two double bogeys.
Junior Annie Brophy (Spokane, Wash.) rounded out the scoring for the Irish, carding a ten over par 82. She birdied the fifth hole and added nine pars, but she was hurt by three double bogeys.
Junior Julie Kim (Bayside, N.Y.), making her first appearance in the Irish lineup since the Rio Verde Collegiate Invitational on March 9, 2008, carded a 16-over par 88.
The top eight teams and the top-two golfers from non-advancing teams at the Central Regional will advance to the NCAA Finals, taking place on May 19-22 at the Caves Valley Golf Course in Owings Mills, Md. After one round of play, UCLA leads the 21-team field with a minus-four (284) score. The Bruins are in first by virtue of having three players turn in under-par rounds, including co-leaders Stephanie Kono and Maria Jose Uribe, who each carded a minus three. The Irish are currently 13 strokes behind Georgia State and UT Chattanooga, who are tied for seventh and occupy the last qualifying spots.
The Irish, making their second consecutive NCAA Central Regional appearance and fourth overall, will look to close the gap with the top eight teams when the second round get underway tomorrow, May 8. Notre Dame tee times for second round play begin at 12:30 p.m. and run through 1:10 p.m. Live scoring of the Central Regional can be accessed through www.golfstatresults.com, while a complete recap will be posted on und.com.
Central Regional Standings
Teams (18-hole scores): 1. UCLA (284)t2. Michigan State (295)t2. Purdue (295)4. Oklahoma State (297)5. Wake Forest (298)6. New Mexico (301)t7. Georgia State (303)t7. UT Chattanooga (303)9. Kent State (305)10. Ohio State (306)t11. Kentucky (308)t11. Washington (308)t11. Louisville (308)14. Stanford (310)15. Illinois State (311)t16. NC State (312)t16. Michigan (312)18. Notre Dame (316) 19. Harvard (318)20. Murray State (322)21. Fairleigh Dickinson (328)
Top-5 Individuals (School/18-hole scores): t1. Stephanie Kono (UCLA/69)t1. Maria Jose Uribe (UCLA/69)t3. Sydnee Michaels (UCLA/70)t3. Natalie Sheary (Wake Forest/70)t5. Jodi Ewart (New Mexico/71)t5. Maude-Aimee LeBlanc (Purdue/71)t5. Stacy Miller (Illinois State/71)
Notre Dame (18-hole scores): t30. Becca Huffer (+4/76)t47. So-Hyun Park (+5/77)t85. Lisa Maunu (+9/81)t88. Annie Brophy (+10/82)107. Julie Kim (+16/88)
–ND–