April 23, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Notre Dame women’s golf team concluded its 1999-2000 season by tying for 10th place out of 16 teams at the Ohio State Lady Buckeye Invitational, following final-round action Sunday at the par-72, 6,126-yard OSU Scarlet Course.
Junior Mary Klein posted her third team-best finish of the season and the eighth of her career, closing with a round of 81 for a 240 total and a share of 22nd in the 99-player field.
Notre Dame’s final-round 331 yielded a 979 total, dropping the Irish from eighth to a 10th-place finish-eight strokes behind Louisville and Ohio University.
Junior captain Shane Smith capped her stellar season with an 83 for a 240 total, yielding the third-best season stroke average in the 12-year history of the Notre Dame women’s golf program (80.38).
Junior Danielle Villarosa closed with an 81 for a 253 total while sophomores Lauren Fuchs (86-253) and Kristin McMurtie (87-254) and freshman Terri Taibl (89-277) rounded out Notre Dame’s six-player starting contingent. Irish freshmen Shelby Strong (82-250) completed an impressive outing as an individual entrant while her classmate Priscilla Ro shot 91-261 as an individual competitor.
Notre Dame wrapped up the 1999-2000 season with the second-best team stroke average (326.36) in Irish women’s golf history. The Irish are set to return eight of their top nine golfers for the 2000-2001 season-including three who rank among the top five on the Irish career stroke average list-with the only loss being junior Becca Schloss, who is scheduled to graduate early (in August of 2000).
NOTES: Klein now ranks sixth in Notre Dame history for team-best finishes (8) … Smith posted the team’s best stroke average for the spring (81.42) and for 1999-2000 (80.38)-ranking third-best in Irish history, behind Katie King’s 1997-98 (79.50) and ’96-’97 (80.17) averages … Smith counted to the four-player team score in all 21 of her rounds played this season, joining Kathy Phares (’92-’93) as the only ND players ever to play in 21 rounds while counting in each (Phares was 21-for-21, with only two others ever posting “perfect” rounds-counted seasons: Phares was 20-for-20 in ’90-’91, King 20-for-20 in ’95-’96) … Klein posted the team’s second-best average for the spring (81.92) while her 81.74 overall season average ranks ninth in ND history … McMurtrie slipped back to an 82.75 spring average but her overall season average (81.96) ranks 11th in the Irish record book … other updated spring averages included Villarosa (84.00), Fuchs (85.42), Ro (85.80), Strong (86.83) and Taibl (89.90) … other updated 1999-2000 averages include: Ro (83.73), Villarosa (84.70), Fuchs (85.74) and Taibl (89.00) … McMurtrie counted in 19 of her 22 rounds during 1999-2000 and Klein in 16 of 19, with the others: Ro (9 of 12, plus 3 indiv. rounds), Villarosa (12 of 18, plus 2), Fuchs (7 of 11, plus 8) and Taibl (2 of 7, plus 5) … ND’s average four-player score for 1999-2000 was 326.36, which ranks second-best in the program’s 12-year history (the ’97-’98 team averaged 319.83 and the ’96-’97 team averaged 326.71) … Klein will head into her senior season with an 82.17 career average-second-best in the ND record book behind King’s 82.10 (’94-’98) … Smith (82.58) ranks fourth on the ND career stroke average list and McMurtrie is fifth (83.37) … Klein has counted in 53 of 65 career rounds, Smith in 35 of 41 (plus 2 indiv. rds) and McMurtrie in 28 of 35 (plus 6).
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS: 1. Ohio State 311-315-303/929, 2. Michigan State 314-310-311/935, 3. Northwestern 316-318-307/935, 4. Indiana 317-318-308/943, 5. Kent 316-310-321/947, 6. Minnesota 324-325-320/969, 7. Wisconsin 321-321-329/ 971, Ohio 314-331-326/971, Louisville 324-328-319/971, 10. Penn State 333-325-321/979, Notre Dame 324-324-331/979, 12. Toledo 336-345-336/1017, 13. Princeton 334-352-332/1018, 14. Stetson 338-334-356 /1028, 14. Xavier 350 -347-332/1029, 16. Bowling Green 342-342-353/1037.
TOP INDIVIDUALS (of 99): 1 Kasey Gant (MSU) 75-76-76/227 , 2. Mollie Fankhauser (OSU) 78 -74-76/228, 3. Katherine Mowat (LOU)77-76-76/229, 4. Inga Snyder (IU) 76-79-7/229, 5. Emily Bastel (MSU) 77-79-74/230.
NOTRE DAME SCORES: 22. Mary Klein 81-78-81/240, 33. Shane Smith 81-79-83/243, 47. Shelby Strong (indiv.) 83-85-82/250, 54. Danielle Villarosa 89-83-81/253, 54. Lauren Fuchs 83-84-86/253, 58. Kristin McMurtrie 79-88-87/254, 80. Priscilla Ro (indiv.) 85-85-91/261, 93. Terri Taibl 96-92-89/277.