Oct. 16, 2009
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Irish women’s golf team shot an opening round 306 (+18) to tie for 10th through one round of play at the 2009 Mercedes Benz Championship, which is being played at the Fox Den Country Club. On a day that saw only two players not from the host institution of Tennessee break par, sophomore Becca Huffer (Denver, Colo./Littleton) led the Irish with a three-over par 75.
Huffer, the reigning BIG EAST Golfer of the Month, fired a 75 on the strength of 13 pars and a birdie at the par-four ninth (which was actually her final hole of the day). She is tied for 24th in the 96-player field.
Senior co-captain Annie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) and juniors So-Hyun Park (Seoul, South Korea/Bradenton Prep) and Katie Conway (Wading River, N.Y.) each carded five-over par 77’s to round out Notre Dame’s scoring on the day. Brophy notched a team-high three birdies but was hurt by two double bogeys. Park added two birdies, while Conway turned in a team-high 14 pars. The trio is tied for 42nd.
Senior co-captain Kristin Wetzel (Middletown, N.Y./Hilton Head Prep) shot an opening round 82.
Tennessee’s Diana Cantu is the current leader at minus-three, while her Lady Vols lead the field by 13 stokes after carding an opening round 283 (-5). Kent State and Louisville are tied for second at eight-over par (296). The Irish are tied at tenth with seventh-ranked LSU and ninth-ranked Ohio State.
The tournament continues tomorrow with the second round of play. Tee times are scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. Live hole-by-hole scoring of the 2009 Mercedes Benz Women’s Collegiate Championship is available through Golfstat. To access the site go to http://www.golfstatresults.com, while a second round recap will be posted on und.com. Live second round video of the 18th green will be available through Tennessee’s tournament homepage: http://www.utladyvols.com/sports/w-golf/m-benz-champs/mb-champs3.html
Mercedes Benz Collegiate Championship - Fox Den Country Club (Par 72/6,317 Yards)
Top-5 Team Scores (18-hole totals):1. Tennessee, 2832. Kent State, 296t2. Louisville, 2964. Chattanooga, 300T5. South Carolina, 302T5. NC State, 302
Top Five Golfers (18-hole scores):1. Diana Cantu, Tennessee, 692. Ginny Brown, Tennessee, 70T3. Susana Benavides, Ohio State, 71T3. Nathalie Mansson, Tennessee, 71T3. Mandi Morrow, Kent State, 71
Notre Dame Scores (18-hole totals):24. (tie) Becca Huffer (75)42. (tie) So-Hyun Park (77)42. (tie) Katie Conway (77)42. (tie) Annie Brophy (77)91. (tie) Kristin Wetzel (82)
— ND —