April 21, 2008
BATAVIA, Ohio – The No. 23 Notre Dame women’s golf team entered Monday’s second round of the BIG EAST Championship with a six-stroke lead and after posting a 301 (+13) on the day, the Irish will take a nine-shot lead into the third and final round on Tuesday. The Fighting Irish carry a 597 (+21) total, while Louisville is second with a 606.
Notre Dame’s 13-over par round on Monday was the top mark of the day at the par 72, 6,080-yard Elks Run Golf Club. The Irish will be gunning for the program’s third BIG EAST title when they tee it up between 9:40 a.m. (ET) and 10:20 a.m. on Tuesday.
Cincinnati is currently in third place with a 616 (306-310), while St. John’s is fourth with a 617 (315-302). Rounding out the field is Georgetown (623), South Florida (638) and Rutgers (671).
Fighting Irish sophomore Annie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) is among a three-way tie for first after 36 holes of play. Brophy carded a team-best two-over par 74 on Monday. She also registered a 74 during Sunday’s first round and will take a four-over par 148 into the final day. Louisville’s Sara-Maude Juneau posted the top score of the day with an even-par 72 and also carries a 148 total as does Brittany Lambertson from St. John’s (74-74).
Two Notre Dame golfers are one shot behind the first-place trio. Junior Lisa Maunu (St. Thomas, Ontario/Parkside Collegiate Institute) and freshman So-Hyun Park (Seoul, South Korea/Bradenton Prep) both possess 149 totals. Maunu fired a 76 on Monday after leading the 35-golfer field with a 73 on Sunday. Park has shot rounds of 74 and 75.
Sophomore Kristin Wetzel (Middletown, N.Y./Hilton Head Prep) notched a four-over par 76 on Monday and will take a 151 (+7) into Tuesday for the Irish. She is currently tied for seventh. Notre Dame freshman Katie Conway (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) knocked two shots off her first-round score with a five-over par 77 and is in a three-way tie at 16th with a 156 (+12).
“We’re certainly sitting where we want to be sitting right now, however today was a little sloppy,” said Notre Dame head coach Susan Holt. “We should be doing some things better than we are. It’s not so much about trying to win this tournament, it’s just about playing the way we’re capable of playing and continuing our season as long as we can. Some of the things that went on today is going to make that a little difficult We just have to manage the game a little bit better. It’s a tough golf course and you really have to think your way around it. If we do a better job with that tomorrow, our scores should reflect that and we’ll be where we want to be.”
The first wave of tee times on Tuesday will begin at 8:00 a.m. (ET). Live scoring of the BIG EAST Championship is available through Golfstat.com. For more information, including results after each day’s round, log onto bigeast.org.
2008 BIG EAST Women’s Golf Championship
Elks Run Golf Club
Batavia, Ohio, Par 72, 6,080 yards
Team Scores (36-hole totals): 1. Notre Dame 597 (296-301), 2. Louisville 606 (302-304), 3. Cincinnati 616 (306-310), 4. St. John’s 617 (315-302), 5. Georgetown 623 (308-315), 6. South Florida 638 (319-319), 7. Rutgers 671 (341-330)
Top-5 Golfers (of 35): 1t. Annie Brophy (Notre Dame) 148 (74-74), 1t. Sara Maude-Juneau (Louisville) 148 (76-72), 1t. Brittany Lambertson (St. John’s) 148 (74-74), 4t. Lisa Maunu (Notre Dame) 149 (73-76), 4t. So-Hyun Park 149 (74-75)
Notre Dame Scores: 1t. Annie Brophy 148 (74-74), 4t. Lisa Maunu 149 (73-76), 4t. So-Hyun Park 149 (74-75), 7t. Kristin Wetzel 151 (75-76), 16t. Katie Conway 156 (79-77)
— ND —