Noriko Nakazaki paced the Irish with a one-over par 73 on Tuesday during the second round of the UNLV Spring Invitational.

Irish Roll To Nine-Shot Win At Notre Dame Invitational

Sept. 11, 2005

Final Notre Dame Invitational Statistics in PDF Format
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NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The Notre Dame women’s golf team opened its 2005 season in impressive fashion with a nine-stroke victory at the Notre Dame Invitational, which concluded Sunday morning at the par 72, 6,003-yard Warren Golf Course. The Irish led wire-to-wire en route to their victory, carding a team score of 929 (311-306-312) to finish ahead of runner-up Toledo (938) and third-place Georgetown (945) in the 17-team field. Sunday’s win also locked up Notre Dame’s fifth tournament title in a little more than a year, as well as the 11th crown in the tenure of fifth-year head coach Debby King, and the fourth time the Irish have claimed top honors in the six-year history of their home tournament.

For the first time in Notre Dame Invitational history, two players shared medalist honors, as Irish junior Noriko Nakazaki (Hanover Park, Ill./Hoffman Estates) and Indiana’s Shannon Johnson both finished at seven-over par 223 for the 54-hole event. It is Nakazaki’s second career medalist finish, following her title at last spring’s Indiana Invitational. In addition, Nakazaki is the second Notre Dame golfer to claim a piece of the individual championship at the Notre Dame Invitational — Rebecca Rogers won the inaugural crown in 2000.

Freshman Lisa Maunu (St. Thomas, Ontario/Parkside Collegiate Institute) capped off a solid showing in her collegiate debut, tying for eighth place at 234 (80-75-79) while playing as an individual competitor, meaning her score did not count to Notre Dame’s team total. Senior co-captain Katie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) was the next highest member of the Irish scoring lineup in the standings, winding up in a 14th-place tie at 236 (80-79-77).

Junior Stacy Brown (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands) and senior Lauren Gebauer (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) tied for 17th place overall at 237. Playing in Notre Dame starting five, Brown fired rounds of 80, 76 and 81. Meanwhile, Gebauer competed as an individual this weekend, shooting an 80, 77 and 80 for the tournament.

Senior co-captain Suzie Hayes (Dublin, Ireland/Loreto College) was one stroke behind her teammates in a 19th-place deadlock at 238 (79-82-77), and sophomore Jane Lee (Palos Verde Estates, Calif./Peninsula) trailed Hayes by another shot in a 23rd-place grouping at 239 (81-78-80). Both Hayes and Lee were part of the scoring quintet for Notre Dame.

Three individual competitors rounded out the Irish contingent, led by freshman Courtney Sullivan (Gresham, Ore./Sam Barlow), who wrapped up her first college tournament in a tie for 65th place at 255 (83-90-82). Sophomore Alejandra Diaz-Calderon (Guadalajara, Mexico/American) was tied for 74th place at 263 (87-86-90), and senior Sarah Bassett (Spokane, Wash./Lewis and Clark) disqualified herself following a scoring error in the second round.

Notre Dame will return to action in two weeks on Sept. 24-25 when it travels to Bloomington, Ind., for the Lady Northern Invitational.

— ND —

2005 Notre Dame Invitational
Sept. 10-11, 2005
Warren Golf Course – Notre Dame, Ind. (par 72/6,003 yards)

Final Top 5 Team Scores (54-hole totals): 1. Notre Dame 929 (311-306-312); 2. Toledo 938 (319-315-304); 3. Georgetown 945 (312-316-317); 4. Bradley 948 (314-313-321); 5. Eastern Michigan 949 (324-312-313).

Final Top 5 Individual Scores (54-hole totals): 1. (tie) Noriko Nakazaki (Notre Dame) 223 (72-73-78) and Shannon Johnson (Indiana) 223 (72-76-75); 3. Kim Kester (Toledo) 226 (78-76-72); 4. Catherine Fortin (Eastern Michigan) 227 (80-74-73); 5. Kathleen Hardy (Xavier) 230 (75-74-81).

Other Notre Dame Individual Scores (54-hole totals): 8. (tie) Lisa Maunu* 234 (80-75-79); 14. (tie) Katie Brophy 236 (80-79-77); 17. (tie) Stacy Brown 237 (80-76-81) and Lauren Gebauer* 237 (80-77-80); 19. (tie) Suzie Hayes 238 (79-82-77); 23. (tie) Jane Lee 239 (81-78-80); 65. (tie) Courtney Sullivan* 255 (83-90-82); 74. (tie) Alejandra Diaz-Calderon* 263 (87-86-90); DQ. Sarah Bassett* (91-DQ-92).
* – played as an individual entrant and not part of scoring team