April 24, 2004
Notre Dame, Ind. – It was an impressive opening day at the 2004 BIG EAST Golf Championship for the Notre Dame women’s golf team, which is on track to win its second consecutive BIG EAST title after firing a first-round 302 and a 18-hole, Championship-record 293 in the second round on Saturday. With their 36-hole total of 19-over par 595, the second-seeded Irish lead the four-team field by 18 strokes over second-place Boston College (No. 3 seed), which shot rounds of 306 and 307 for a two-round total of 613. Freshman Noriko Nakazaki (Hanover Park, Ill./Hoffman Estates) not only is the top Irish golfer after 36 holes, but also is tied for the tournament lead after carding 18-hole marks of 75 and two-under par 70, a tournament record for low round, for a one-over par 145. Notre Dame is playing host to the BIG EAST tournament at the par-72, 6,003-yard Warren Golf Course after also hosting the inaugural BIG EAST Women’s Golf Championship in 2003.
Tied with Nakazaki for first in the 20-player field is freshman Alison Walshe of Boston College who had scores of 71 and 74 for her 145 total. Following the two BIG EAST rookies is Georgetown’s returning all-BIG EAST selection Christy Larrimore, who is third with a 148 (72-76). In third place on the team side is top-seeded Miami (306-308–614), followed by Georgetown at 640 (318-322).
After Nakazaki for Notre Dame are two sophomores tied for sixth with a six-over par 150, Sarah Bassett (Spokane, Wash./Lewis and Clark) and Katie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep). Bassett fired rounds of 74 and 76 on day one, which included eagles on hole 2 in the first round and on the 17th hole in round two. Brophy, a defending co-champion of the BIG EAST tourney, turned in a pair of 75’s on Saturday.
In ninth place is junior Karen Lotta (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount), giving the Irish four players in the top 10 after two rounds. Following a tough opening 18 holes of play that resulted in a score of 81, the 2003 all-BIG EAST golfer recovered to have a sterling even-par performance of 72 in the second round, giving Lotta a 36-hole mark of 153.
Rounding out the Irish contingent is sophomore Suzie Hayes (Dublin, Ireland/Loreto College) who earned all-BIG EAST honors in 2003. Hayes shot scores of 78 and 84 on day one to give her a two-round total of 162.
The final round of the BIG EAST Championship will take place on Sunday, April 15, and is scheduled to get underway with tee times at hole 1, starting at 8:00 a.m. (EST). The following are the tee times for Notre Dame players:
Final Round – Hayes (8:50), Lotta (9:00), Bassett (9:10), Brophy (9:20), Nakazaki (9:30)
The BIG EAST Championship is open to the public with free admission. In addition, the Conference is utilizing live scoring for the event. Each player’s results are viewable at www.golfstatresults.com with scores being updated every nine holes. Final results will be available both at the tournament’s page at the Golfstat site and at Notre Dame’s website, www.und.com.
— ND —
TEAM RESULTS (36-hole totals): 1. Notre Dame 595 (302-293); 2. Boston College 613 (306-307); 3. Miami 614 (306-308); 4. Georgetown 640 (318-322).
TOP NINE INDIVIDUALS (of 20): 1. (tie) Noriko Nakazaki (Notre Dame) 145 (75-70), Alison Walshe (Boston College) 145 (71-74); 3. Christy Larrimore (Georgetown) 148 (72-76); 4.(tie) Jazmin Cataldo (Miami) 149 (73-76), Jessica Steward (Boston College) 149 (74-75); 6.(tie) Sarah Bassett (Notre Dame) 150 (74-76), Katie Brophy (Notre Dame) 150 (75-75); 8. Tina Miller (Miami) 151 (76-75); 9. Karen Lotta (Notre Dame) 153 (81-72).
NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (of 20): 1.(tie) Noriko Nakazaki 145 (75-70); 6.(tie) Sarah Bassett 150 (74-76), Katie Brophy 150 (75-75); 9. Karen Lotta 153 (81-72); 14. Suzie Hayes 162 (78-84).