April 6, 2003
Bloomington, Ind. – Strong performances by junior Shannon Byrne (Arlington Heights, Ill.) and freshman Katie Brophy (Spokane, Wash.) in the final round of play at the Indiana Invitational, moved Notre Dame into seventh-place in the 11-team tournament on Sunday afternoon.
Battling winds that gusted to 26 miles per hour and wind chills as low as 26 degrees, Byrne and Brophy shot 76 and 77 respectively to help the Irish to a 318 total in the final round. That gave the Irish a 963 mark (327-318-318) for the 54-hole tournament played at the par 74, 6,134-yard Indiana University Golf Course. Notre Dame finished 47 strokes behind tournament champion, Purdue, as the Boilermakers finished with a 28-over par 916 (307-304-305) for the tournament.
Missouri was second, 12 strokes behind Purdue, with a 928 (309-305-314), followed by Kent State with a 934 (307-314-313). The host school, Indiana, finished fourth with a 937 (317-303-317) and Wisconsin rounded out the top five teams with a 54-hole mark of 946 (318-306-322).
Individually, Brophy was Notre Dame’s top finisher as her final round 77 gave her a three-round score of 233 that put her 14th in the 72-player field. The Irish freshman shot rounds of 82 and 74 on Saturday. Her 233 put her 11 strokes behind tournament winner Kim Benedict of Michigan who shot an even-par 222 (72-74-76) for the weekend, leading from start to finish. Wisconsin’s Katie Connelly was second, one stroke back with a 223 (76-73-74). Maria Svensson of Arkansas-Little Rock was third with a 225 (79-73-73) and Missouri’s Maria Ohlsson and Purdue’s Beth Hermes tied for fourth overall with five-over par totals of 227.
Following Brophy for Notre Dame was Shannon Byrne who tied for 27th with a 20-over par 242. She shot rounds of 82 and 82 on Saturday, before her final-round 76 on Sunday. Freshman Sarah Bassett (Spokane, Wash.) was third among Irish golfers and tied for 33rd in the tournament with a 245 (82-83-80). Fellow freshman Suzie Hayes (Dublin, Ireland) tied for 40th with a 249 (81-83-85) and was followed by Karen Lotta (So., Los Angeles, Calif.) who checked in with a 54-hole total of 251. Lotta had rounds of 84-78-89 for the weekend. Terri Taibl (Sr., Elm Grove, Wis.) finished 62nd in the tournament with a 261 (88-84-89).
The Irish will return to action on April 21-22 when they participate in the BIG EAST Championship tournament that will be held at the Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame. Play will begin at 8:00 a.m. both mornings. This is the first time the BIG EAST will host a women’s championship as four of the six teams in the conference that play women’s golf will be chosen to participate.
FINAL TEAM RESULTS (54-hole totals): 1. Purdue 307-304-305-916; 2. Missouri 309-305-314-928; 3. Kent State 307-314-313-934; 4. Indiana 317-303-317-937; 5. Wisconsin 318-306-322-946; 6. Michigan 322-313-313-948; 7. Notre Dame 327-318-318-963; 8. Minnesota 323-322-322-967; 9. Arkansas-Little Rock 323-317-330-970; 10. Iowa 324-332-326-982; 11. Illinois State 331-336-325-992.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 72): 1. Kim Benedict (Michigan) 72-74-76-222; 2. Katie Connelly (Wisconsin) 76-73-74-223; 3. Maria Svensson (Arkansas-Little Rock) 79-73-73-225; t4. Maria Ohlsson (Missouri) 77-75-75-227; Beth Hermes (Purdue) 76-76-75-227; t6. Elin Ohlsson (Missouri) 77-76-76-229; Martina Gillen (Kent State) 76-76-77-229; O. Sattaybanphot (Purdue) 78-76-75-229; t9. Heather Suhr (Purdue) 77-74-80-231; Karen Dennison (Indiana) 78-75-78-231; Veronique Drouin (Kent State) 78-78-75-231; Kari Damron (Purdue) 77-79-75-231.
NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (of 72): 14. Katie Brophy 82-74-77-233; t27. Shannon Byrne 82-84-76-242; t33. Sarah Bassett 82-83-80-245; t40. Suzie Hayes 81-83-85-249; t48. Karen Lotta 84-78-89-251; 62. Terri Taibl 88-84-89-261.