April 22, 2007
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A BIG EAST Championship-record round of 292 (+4) has the Notre Dame women’s golf team in first place following the first round of the 2007 BIG EAST Championship at the par 72, 6,067-yard Oxmoor Country Club. Freshmen Annie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) and Julie Kim (Bayside, N.Y./Bayside) led the way for the Irish as they both carded season-best rounds of 72 to reside in a three-way tie for second, just two shots off the pace. The second round of the 54-hole tournament will take place on Monday.
Louisville, the host school for the event, is six shots in back of the Irish with a 298, while South Florida posted a 304 to round out the top-three teams of the seven-team field. Cindy Lacrosse from Louisville leads the 34-golfer field after shooting a two-under par 70. South Florida’s Christina Jones joins Brophy and Kim in the tie for second.
“We played well today,” said Notre Dame head coach Susan Holt following Sunday’s first round. “We had a couple bogies that were unnecessary so we could have been even better, but I am really happy with how we played. We still have two days to go, so we need to refocus and try to widen our lead.”
Kim had pars on her first 13 holes, before notching a birdie on No. 14. She would finish with a team-best 14 pars on the day to go along with two birdies. Brophy had Notre Dame’s only eagle during the opening round as she carded a three on the par-five fifth hole. She concluded the day with two birdies and 11 pars.
Fighting Irish senior Noriko Nakazaki (Hanover Park, Ill./Hoffman Estates) fired a one-over par 73 and is in a four-way tie for fifth following the first 18 holes of play. She had a team-high four birdies on the day.
Freshman Kristin Wetzel (Middletown, N.Y./Hilton Head Prep) registered a three-over par 75 to currently reside in a tie for ninth place for the Irish. Completing the Notre Dame lineup is sophomore Lisa Maunu (St. Thomas, Ontario/Collegiate Parkside Institute), who shot a five-over par 77 and is tied for 11th.
“We had a really good team meeting last night and I just told them to focus on the little things that they’ve been working on all year,” stated Holt. “They have been focused, but just not for an entire 18 holes. They start out well and then kind of fall back and that’s a mental thing. They just have to be patient and accept what happens and deal with it. I was very pleased with how they did that today.”
Monday’s second round of the 2007 BIG EAST Women’s Golf Championship will get underway with tee times beginning at 8:00 a.m. (ET). The third and final round is Tuesday. Live results of the tournament are available at Golfstat.com. For additional information, log on to und.com or call the Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.
2007 BIG EAST Women’s Golf Championship
Oxmoor Country Club – Louisville, Ky. (Par 72, 6,067-yards)
Team Scores (18-hole totals): 1. Notre Dame 292, 2. Louisville 298, 3. USF 304, 4. Cincinnati 309, 5. Georgetown 318, 6. St. John’s 320, 7. Rutgers 331
Top-4 Golfers (of 34) (18-hole totals): 1. Cindy LaCrosse (Louisville) 70, 2t. Annie Brophy (Notre Dame) 72, 2t. Julie Kim (Notre Dame) 72, 2t. Christina Jones (USF) 72
Notre Dame Scores (18-hole totals): 2t. Annie Brophy 72, 2t. Julie Kim 72, 5t. Noriko Nakazaki 73, 9t. Kristin Wetzel 75, 11t. Lisa Maunu 77