May 6, 2010
COLUMBUS, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s golf team opened 2010 NCAA Regional play at the Otter Creek Golf Course (par 72/6,416 yards) by shooting a 40-over par 328. The Fighting Irish were led by sophomore Becca Huffer (Denver, Colo./Littleton), who fired a three-over par 75 on Thursday. Huffer enters the second round of play tied for 16th, while the Irish are tied for 20th with N.C. State.
Huffer played the front nine at even-par (36) before giving a few shots back on her back nine, which she played at three-over par (39). Her day included birdies on the third, seventh and 15th holes. She also had nine pars, four bogeys but was hurt by a double bogey on the 17th. After playing in last season’s NCAA Central Regional, Huffer has completed four rounds of NCAA play in her Irish career and now carries a 76.25 stroke average in NCAA play.
Starting at the No. 4 position, junior Katie Conway (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) carded a 10-over par 82 on Thursday afternoon for Notre Dame’s second best score of the first round. Her day was highlighted by a birdie on the 17th. She also had eight pars, seven bogeys and two doubles.
Making her third consecutive NCAA Central Regional appearance, senior captain Annie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) turned in a 13-over par 85 that included nine pars, five bogeys and four doubles.
Playing in her second consecutive tournament as a member of the starting five, sophomore Katie Allare (Phoenix, Ariz./Xavier Prep) shot a 14-over par 86 to round out the scoring for the Irish. Conway notched seven pars, eight bogeys and three doubles.
Senior Julie Kim (Bayside, N.Y./Bayside), appearing as a member of the starting five for the first time since the 2009 Central Regional, announced her return with a birdie on the first hole. But her play from there was up and down as she finished with a 15-over par (87) total that included two birdies, five pars, six bogeys and four doubles and a triple.
Through one round of play, Arizona State leads the Central Regional field at nine-over par. USC is second with an 11-over par total. The eight lowest scoring teams at the Central Regional, as well as the two lowest scoring individuals on non-advancing teams 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.
The Irish will try and climb the leader board in tomorrow’s second round, with the Irish tee times slated to run between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m. (ET). Live results for round two can be followed on www.golfstat.com, while a complete recap of Notre Dame’s second round performance will be posted on und.com.
Notre Dame Scores
t-16 Becca Huffer (75)
t-79 Katie Conway (82)
t-101 Annie Brophy (85)
t-103 Katie Allare (86)
t-109 Julie Kim (87)
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