Oct. 8, 2001
Mason, Ohio – The Notre Dame men’s golf team finished Monday’s play at the Xavier Provident Invitational just seven strokes behind tournament leader Western Kentucky after 36 holes of play. The Irish are tied for sixth with Michigan with one-over par team totals of 569 while Western Kentucky finished the day at 562 (286-276) on the par 71, 6,808-yard Grizzly Course at Kings Island. The final round of play will be played on Tuesday beginning at 8:00 a.m.
The Irish started the day in fourth place after 18 holes, just three strokes behind first round leader Xavier. Notre Dame turned in a one under par 283 in the opening round led by the hot play of Steve Ratay (Sr., Arlington Heights, Ill.). The Irish team captain fired a five-under par 66 for his opening round to lead the tournament by one stroke. He closed the day with a 71 in the second round to give him a 36-hole total of five-under par 137. He stands six strokes off the pace set by Ohio University’s Erik Heberth who fired rounds of 67 and 64 for a 131 total. Heberth leads Western Kentucky’s Eric Mason by four shots as Mason turned in a 135 (69-66) for the day.
Trailing Western Kentucky for the team lead is Marshall as the Thundering Herd is two strokes off the pace with a 564 (281-283). Ohio University is third with a 566 (282-284) while Xavier (280-287) and Ball State (286-281) round out the top five teams with 567 totals, two strokes ahead of Notre Dame and Michigan.
Individually, Heberth and Mason stand one-two and are followed by Xavier’s Miles Maillet with a 136 (67-69) with Ratay and Marshall’s Aaron Williams rounding out the top five with 137. For the 36 holes, 17 golfers shot par or better.
For the Irish, freshman Ryan Marshall (Marco Island, Fla.) and junior Brandon Lunke (San Antonio, Texas) were among that group. Marshall shot rounds of 71 and 69 for a two-under par total of 140 and is tied for 10th after the 36 holes. Lunke is at even par 142 after rounds of 72 and 70. Rounding out the Irish lineup are Steve Colnitis (Fr., Baldwin, Md.) who is tied for 78th with a 150 (74-76) and Kevin Ricci (Sr., Stuart, Fla.) who is tied for 93rd after rounds of 75 and 80 for a 155 total.
36-HOLE TEAM RESULTS: 1. Western Kentucky 286-276-562, 2. Marshall 281-283-564, 3. Ohio University 282-284-566, 4. Xavier 280-287-567, Ball State 286-281-567, t6. Notre Dame 283-286-569, Michigan 285-284-569, t8. Penn State 293-283-576, Wright State 285-291-576, 10. Eastern Michigan 288-290-578, 11. Wisconsin 292-288-580, 12. Louisville 295-287-582, t13. Indiana 291-292-583, Bowling Green 291-292-583, Kentucky 295-288-583, 16. Miami (OH) 301-286-587, 17. Akron 294-295-589, t18. Georgetown 298-293-591, Cincinnati 299-292-591.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 100): 1. Erik Herberth (Ohio) 67-64-131, 2. Eric Mason (Western Kentucky) 69-66-135, 3. Miles Maillet (Xavier) 67-69-136, t4. Steve Ratay (Notre Dame) 66-71-137, Aaron Williams (Marshall) 67-70-137, t6. Andrew Chapman (Michigan) 68-70-138, Dan Witt (Ball State) 68-70-138, t8. Nick Cook (Georgetown) 72-67-139, Andrew Matthews (Michigan) 70-69-139, t10. Ryan Marshall (Notre Dame) 71-69-140, John Mullendore (Western Kentucky) 72-68-140.
NOTRE DAME PLAYERS (of 100): t4. Steve Ratay 66-71-137, t10. Ryan Marshall 71-69-140, t14. Brandon Lunke 72-70-142, t78. Steve Colnitis 74-76-150, t93. Kevin Ricci 75-80-155.