April 24, 2004
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team carded a two-round score of 25-over par 585 and stands in second place after the first day of competition at the 2004 BIG EAST Conference Championship on Saturday. The Irish led after the first round with a score of 290, but a second-round 295 dropped Notre Dame five shots behind three-time defending league champion Virginia Tech. This weekend’s tournament is being held at the par 70, 7,011-yard Warren Golf Course on the Notre Dame campus.
Freshman Cole Isban (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian HS) leads the Irish and stands third among individuals with a four-over par 144, including a career-low round of 69 (-1) on the opening circuit. Isban is seven strokes behind Virginia Tech’s Ryan Stinnett, who leads the tournament with a score of three-under 137.
Sophomores Eric Deutsch (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes HS) and Tommy Balderston (Boca Raton, Fla./St. Andrews HS) also are in the Top 10 on the individual ladder. Deutsch put together his best 36-hole score of the spring, firing a five-over par 145 (74-71) to move into fourth place, eight strokes off the lead. Meanwhile, Balderston, an all-BIG EAST selection last year, is in prime position to repeat his all-conference honor in 2004 after tying for sixth place at seven-over par 147 (74-73) on Saturday.
Sophomore Mark Baldwin (Laconia, N.H./New Hampton Prep) currently is tied for 11th place with a score of 10-over par 150 (74-76), while classmate Scott Gustafson (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie HS) is in a 16th-place tie at 11-over 151 (73-78). Baldwin and Gustafson also were all-conference selections last year.
Notre Dame will return to the links Sunday for the final round of the BIG EAST Championship, with the first Irish golfers starting off at 8:50 a.m. (EST/CDT) from the 10th tee at the Warren Golf Course. The winner of this weekend’s BIG EAST Championship will earn the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Championship, a place Notre Dame has not visited since 1966.
– ND –
TEAM RESULTS (36-hole totals): 1. Virginia Tech 580 (292-288); 2. NOTRE DAME 585 (290-295); 3. Boston College 593 (295-298); 4. Georgetown 599 (302-297); 5. St. John’s 607 (306-301); 6. Rutgers 618 (313-305).
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 30): 1. Ryan Stinnett (Virginia Tech) 137 (70-67); 2. Matt Hollerbach (Virginia Tech) 142 (70-72); 3. Cole Isban (Notre Dame) 144 (69-75); 4. Eric Deutsch (Notre Dame) 145 (74-71); 5. Matt Myers (Georgetown) 146 (74-72); 6. (tie) Tommy Balderston (Notre Dame) 147 (74-73), David Erickson (Georgetown) 147 (75-72), Brian McArdle (St. John’s) 147 (75-72) and Eric Recher (Boston College (147 (74-73); 10. Joel Kraner (Virginia Tech) 149 (75-74).
NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (of 30): 3. Cole Isban 144 (69-75); 4. Eric Deutsch 145 (74-71); 6. (tie) Tommy Balderston 147 (74-73); 11. (tie) Mark Baldwin 150 (74-76); 16. (tie) Scott Gustafson 151 (73-78).