March 16, 2007
AUSTIN, Texas – The Notre Dame women’s golf team resides in a tie for sixth place after shooting a 314 during Friday’s first round of the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational at the par-72 University of Texas Golf Club. Texas is currently in first place with a 15-over par 303. Leading the way for the Irish on day one of the tournament was Noriko Nakazaki (Hanover Park, Ill./Hoffman Estates). The senior co-captain carded a three-over par 75 and is in a six-way tie for seventh place.
Rounding out the top-three teams are No. 27 TCU and No. 24 Arkansas with identical 306 marks. No. 18 Purdue is the highest-ranked squad out of the 15-team field. The Boilermakers are currently fourth with a 307. Joining the Irish in a tie for sixth are Iowa and Iowa State.
Nakazaki is six shots off the pace, which was established by Texas’ Kelley Louth, who fired a three-under par 69 on her home course. Lucy Nunn from Arkansas is in second place, out of the 88-golfer field, with a two-under par 70.
Notre Dame freshman Annie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) is currently tied for 24th with a six-over par 78, while her classmate Kristin Wetzel (Middletown, N.Y./Hilton Head Prep) is two shots back with an 80 and tied for 40th.
Completing the Fighting Irish lineup is sophomore Lisa Maunu (St. Thomas, Ontario/Collegiate Parkside Institute) and freshman Julie Kim (Bayside, N.Y./Bayside). Maunu carded a nine-over par 81 on the day and is tied at 46th and Kim is tied for 54th with an 82.
The second round of the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational will take place on Saturday. The third and final round is Sunday. Live results of the tournament are available at Golfstat.com. For additional information, log on to und.com or call the Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.
Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational
(The University of Texas Golf Club – Austin, Texas. Par 72, 6,290-yards)
Team Scores (18-hole totals): 1. Texas 303, 2t. TCU 306, 2t. Arkansas 306, 4. Purdue 307, 5. SMU 313, 6t. Iowa 314, 6t. Iowa State 314, 6t. Notre Dame 314, 9. Nebraska 315, 10t. Penn State 316, 10t. Oklahoma 316, 12. Baylor 317, 13t. Kansas 323, 13t. Texas (B) 323, 15. Minnesota 328
Top-4 Golfers (out of 88) (18-hole totals): 1. Kelley Louth (Texas) 69, 2. Lucy Nunn (Arkansas) 70, 3t. Christel Boeljon (Purdue) 73, 3t. Lacey Jones (SMU) 73
Notre Dame Scores (18-hole totals): 7t. Noriko Nakazaki 75, 24t. Annie Brophy 78, 40t. Kristin Wetzel 80, 46t. Lisa Maunu 81, 54t. Julie Kim 82