Sept. 24, 2004
Lubbock, Texas – The Notre Dame women’s golf team shot a season-low round of 296 in the opening day of the Jeannine McHaney Invitational/Central Regional Preview on Friday afternoon. The Irish are currently in third place among the 18-team field, one stroke behind Missouri and five strokes off the leader, Southern Methodist. Notre Dame junior Katie Brophy (Spokane, WA/Gonzaga Prep) matched her career-best round as she fired a three-under par 69 (34-35) to place second heading into Saturday’s second round at the par 72, 6,375 Jerry S. Rawls Golf Course. Brophy is one-shot in back of Arkansas’ Stacy Lewis.
Irish sophomore Noriko Nakazaki (Hanover Park, IL/Hoffman Estates) finds herself in a 15-way tie for 19th after a solid day in which she carded a three-over par 75 (39-36). Finishing one-stroke in back of Nakazaki were two of her Notre Dame teammates, Jane Lee (Palos Verdes Estates, CA/Peninsula) and Stacy Brown (The Woodlands, TX/The Woodlands). Lee, a freshman, carded a pair of 38’s, while the sophomore Brown shot a 39 on the front nine holes and 37 on the back nine. Junior Lauren Gebauer (Columbus, OH/Upper Arlington) is not far behind for the Irish as she shot a five-over par 77 (36-41).
Notre Dame, who is participating in the program’s first-ever Central Regional preview, is battling a very strong and competitive field as Missouri entered competition ranked number one according to golfweek.com. Missouri’s Maria Ohlsson, who is currently in third place, was ranked as the top individual in the nation. Other competing teams ranked in the top-20 were Oklahoma (15), Iowa State (16), and Arkansas (19). The Sooners are in fourth-place going into the second round, while the Razorbacks and Cyclones place fifth and tied for ninth, respectively. The Irish were ranked 30th according to the poll.
The second round of competition gets underway on Saturday with a shotgun start beginning at 8:00 a.m. (CT). Results will be posted on the Texas Tech University Athletic Department web site at www.texastech.com. For additional information please log on to www.und.com or call the Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.
Top-10 Team Scores (18-hole totals): 1. Southern Methodist 291, 2. Missouri 295, 3. Notre Dame 296, 4. Oklahoma 298, 5. Arkansas 301, 6. Baylor 303, 7. TCU 304, 8. Tulsa 305, 9t. Texas Tech 306, 9t. Iowa State 306.
Top 10 Golfers plus Notre Dame scores (18-hole totals): 1. Stacy Lewis (Arkansas) 68, 2. Katie Brophy (Notre Dame) 69, 3. Maria Ohlsson (Missouri) 70, 4. Amparo Gala (Oklahoma) 71, 5t. Jennifer Ackerson (SMU) 72, 5t. Lisa Meshke (Iowa State) 72, 5t. Kali Quick (Kansas State) 72, 5t. Kristina Rothengatte (SMU) 72, 9t. Meredith Jones (Baylor) 73, 9t. Lehua Wise (New Mexico State) 73, 9t. Lacey Jones (SMU) 73, 9t. Lindsey Hinshaw (Arkansas) 73, 19t. Noriko Nakazaki (Notre Dame) 75, 34t. Jane Lee (Notre Dame) 76, 34t. Stacy Brown (Notre Dame) 76, 42t. Lauren Gebauer (Notre Dame) 77.