Sept. 22, 2002
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team travels to Lawrence, Kan., to participate in the 19th Kansas Invitational on Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 23-24 at the par-72, 6,950-yard Alvamar Golf Club, the home course of the Kansas Jayhawks.
Monday’s schedule consists of 36-holes and will begin with an 8:00 a.m. shotgun start. Tuesday’s final round of 18 holes will begin at 8:30 a.m.
The University of Kansas won the last Kansas Invitational in 2000 by 31 strokes over the University of Missouri. This year’s tournament field includes: Baylor, Drake, Illinois State, Iowa State, Kansas, Missouri, Missouri-Kansas City, Nebraska, North Texas, Northern Iowa, Notre Dame, Oral Roberts, Southwest Missouri State and Wichita State.
Coach John Jasinski and his Irish golfers are coming off a 14th-place finish at the Inverness Intercollegiate Invitational a week ago in Toledo, Ohio.
Jasinski will send a lineup that includes four freshmen and a junior into play at the Kansas Invitational. Leading the freshmen will be Eric Deutsch (Rochester, Minn.), who was the team’s top finisher at Inverness as he finished in a tie for 22nd with a 225 in his first collegiate action.
Scott Gustafson (Fr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) makes his second appearance for the Irish after finishing in a tie for 45th with a 231 mark. Tommy Balderston (Fr., Boca Raton, Fla.) will also play in his second Notre Dame tournament after finishing 75th last week with a 249.
Freshman Mark Baldwin (Laconia, N.H.) and junior Gavin Ferlic (South Bend, Ind.) will each make their first appearances this season. Baldwin joins the Irish after a standout career at New Hampton Prep School where he won the New Hampshire State high school championship and was an all-state selection.
Ferlic played in two tournaments as a freshman with a 79.60 average and in four career tourneys has a 78.00 average.
Following the Kansas Invitational, the Irish are off until Oct. 10-11 when they travel to Fresno, Calif., to play in the Fresno Lexus Golf Classic.