Oct. 31, 2004
SOUTH BEND, IND. – With two victories already under their belts, the Notre Dame women’s golf team heads to Charleston, S.C. to close out the fall portion of their 2004-05 schedule at the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate. The Irish along with 18 other teams will take to the par 72, 5,902 yards Kiawah Island’s Oak Point Golf Course for two days of action beginning Monday, Nov. 1. Notre Dame was victorious at the event one year ago.
WATTS/PALMETTO FIELD: In order to capture their second straight Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate victory the Irish will have their work cut out for them as they go up against a field that includes Michigan, East Carolina, Louisville and Southern Methodist. Michigan is 20th and SMU is 25th according to the latest golfstat.com rankings. The Fighting Irish own a 2-1 mark against the Wolverines and are 1-0 versus the Mustangs so far during this 2004 campaign. Several other central region teams will also be competing along with the College of Charleston, who is hosting the event. Each day will feature 27-holes of play with only the first 18 being counted for release on the first day.
NOTRE DAME LINEUP: The Irish will send out Katie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep), Noriko Nakazaki (Hanover Park, Ill./Hoffman Estates), Jane Lee (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./Peninsula), Stacy Brown (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands) and Suzie Hayes (Dublin, Ireland/Loreto College). Brophy, Nakazaki and Lee have been part of the scoring-five at every event throughout the fall season. Brown and Brophy tied for sixth with an eight-over par 224 at last year’s Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate and Nakazaki placed 16th with an 11-over par 227. The victorious Irish shot a 28-over par 892 as a team.
LAST TIME OUT: Notre Dame was in ninth place following the first round of action at the Lady Razorback Invitational but rallied to capture a fifth-place finish following 54-holes of play. The Irish shot a 58-over par 922 (314-308-300) and were lead by Brophy, who shot a 13-over par 229 to place in a tie for 12th. Her third round total of a three-under par 69 tied a five-year old Lady Razorback Invitational record for low round. Nakazaki and Lee each carded a 17-over par 233 to tie for 22nd.
IRISH THOUGHTS: Head coach Debby King on the Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate …
“We are the defending champ so we hope to defend our title and end the fall season on a good note.”
“The team we are taking is basically the same one that won at the Shoot-Out at Legends so we feel confident. We can only take five to this tournament instead of the six we used there so we are missing Lauren (Gebauer).”
Sophomore Noriko Nakazaki on the attitude of the team as they finish up the fall season …
“So far we have done really well. I look at where we were my freshman year compared to where we are at right now and we are a lot stronger now. We are finishing better and we are playing against stronger teams.”
Nakazaki on how the team feels heading into the Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate …
“We feel great. If we play our best we have a chance at winning.”
RESULTS: Each day’s results will be posted on the College of Charleston web site at CofCSports.com.
NEXT UP FOR THE IRISH: Notre Dame opens up the spring slate on February 21, 2005 at the Central District Classic in Parrish, Fla. Continue to follow the Irish throughout the 2004-05 season by logging onto www.und.com or by calling the Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.
2004 Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate Field: Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Campbell, Charleston Southern, Cincinnati, The Citadel, Coastal Carolina, College of Charleston, East Carolina, Illinois, Kansas State, Louisville, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oral Roberts, SMU, Western Carolina, Wisconsin.
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