Sept. 24, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s golf team is currently in fourth-place following the first two rounds of play at the Lady Northern Invitational, which were played on Saturday at the par 72, 6,142-yard Indiana University Championship Golf Course. The Fighting Irish carded a 303 in the morning’s first round and followed that up with an impressive 296 in the afternoon for a 23-over par total of 599 heading into Sunday’s third and final round of play. Notre Dame junior Noriko Nakazaki (Hanover Park, Ill./Hoffman Estates) fired a two-over par 144 (70-74), which is three shots off the pace, on the day to reside in a three-way tie for third.
“This is the first time we’ve broken 300 in a long time,” stated Irish head coach Debby King following the day’s action. “It felt really good to do that. The team’s goal was to break 295 and we came pretty close to that.”
Purdue has a comfortable 15-stroke lead on the 12-team field after posting a two-under par 574 (288-286). Penn State is currently second with a 13-over par 589 (293-296) and Michigan State is third with a 16-over 592 (298-294). The Boilermakers’ Maria Hernandez and Illinois State’s Samantha Richdale are tied on the individual leader board after they each shot a three-under 141 on the day. Five of Purdue’s six golfers find themselves in the top-eight of the 76-golfer field.
Fighting Irish senior Lauren Gebauer (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) is tied for 12th overall after she carded a four-over par 148 (75-73) during the first 36 holes of action. Senior co-captain Katie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) posted rounds of 78 and 75 to take a nine-over par 153 total into the final round on Sunday. She is currently in a tie for 34th for the Irish, who went below 300 in a round as a team for the first time since November 2nd of last year at the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate, where they posted a 295.
“Our main focus this weekend was to encourage each other,” King says. “We wanted to be there for each other instead of just looking at the grass as we were walking the fairways. There were a lot more high-fives out there today, so that was nice to see.”
Sophomore Jane Lee (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./Peninsula) struggled with an opening round total of 81 before coming back in the afternoon with a two-over par 74. Her 11-over par score of 155 places her in a tie for 41st. Her Irish teammate, Stacy Brown (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands), posted a 13-over par 157 (80-77), which ties her for 46th. Brown is playing as an individual entrant in the tournament. Fighting Irish freshman Lisa Maunu (St. Thomas, Ontario/Parkside Collegiate Institute) registered a 15-over par 159 (80-79) and that ties her for 58th. Rounding out the field for Notre Dame was senior co-captain Suzie Hayes (Dublin, Ireland/Loreto College), who posted a 19-over par 163 (83-80). She is currently in a tie for 69th overall.
Each team has six golfers with the lowest four scores counting towards the team’s overall score.
“We feel confident heading into tomorrow,” King states. “We want to better ourselves each day and hopefully we can break 295. If we play well again, whatever place we end up is where we’ll end up.”
Nakazaki will be looking for her second straight medalist finish as the tournament wraps up on Sunday. The junior was co-medalist at the season-opening Notre Dame Invitational back on Sept. 10 and 11. Sunday’s third and final round will get underway with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. Live results of the tournament are available at Golfstat.com. For additional information please log on to und.com or call the Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.
Lady Northern Invitational (Indiana University Golf Course – Bloomington, Ind., Par 72, 6,142-yards)
Team Scores (36-hole totals): 1. Purdue 574 (288-286), 2. Penn State 589 (293-296), 3. Michigan State 592 (298-294), 4. Notre Dame 599 (303-296), 5. Iowa 602 (300-302), 6. Indiana 604 (307-297), 7t. Illinois State 608 (304-304), 7t. Michigan 608 (296-312), 9. Northwestern 612 (312-300), 10. Illinois 615 (314-301), 11. Wisconsin 617 (313-304), 12. Minnesota 623 (313-310).
Top-5 Golfers (36-hole totals): 1t. Maria Hernandez (Purdue) 141 (70-71), 1t. Samantha Richdale (Illinois State) 141 (72-69), 3t. Christel Boeljon (Purdue) 144 (72-72), 3t. Noriko Nakazaki (Notre Dame) 144 (70-74), 3t. Onnarin Sattayabanphot (Purdue) 144 (73-71).
Other Notre Dame Scores (36-hole totals): 12t. Lauren Gebauer 148 (75-73), 34t. Katie Brophy 153 (78-75), 41t. Jane Lee 155 (81-74), 46t. Stacy Brown* 157 (80-77), 58t. Lisa Maunu 159 (80-79), Suzie Hayes 163 (83-80).
*-playing as an individual entrant
— ND –