Sept. 22, 2002

East Lansing, Mich. – The Notre Dame women’s golf team shot a final-round 326 on Sunday afternoon to finish 10th at the Mary Fossum Invitational at Michigan State. The 326 gave the Irish a 54-hole total of 956 which put them 49 strokes off the pace set by tournament champion Kent State.

Kent came from nine strokes behind in the final round of play to fire a 10-over par 298 for the final 18 holes to catch 36-hole leader Michigan State and win the tournament by seven strokes over Wisconsin. The Golden Flash finished with a 907 total on rounds of 299-310-298 on the par 72, 6,113-yard Forest Akers West Course.

Wisconsin finished with a 914 total (302-305-307) to finish two strokes ahead of Michigan State as the Spartans followed Saturday’s 300-300 with a 316 mark good for a 54-hole total of 916. Illinois (316-299-306) was fourth with a 921 and Kansas State rounded out the top-five with a 931 (315-302-314).

Individually, Nebraska’s Sarah Sasse (75-74-72) and Michigan State’s Allison Fouch (75-72-74) each shot 54-hole totals of 221 to tie for the lead at five-over par. Sasse, who started the day three strokes out of the lead and two strokes behind Fouch, took medalist honors by winning on the second playoff hole. Kent State’s Gabby Wedding had the best round of the day with a one-under par 71 to finish third with a 222 (74-77-71). The second round leader, Western Michigan’s Erica Bieniek, shot a 77 in the final round to fall to fourth with a 223 after opening rounds of 71 and 75. Wisconsin’s Malinda Johnson (76-73-75) and Illinois’ Renata Young (76-72-76) tied for fifth with eight-over par 224.

The top finishers for the Irish were a pair of freshmen as Sarah Bassett (Spokane, Wash.) tied for 21st and Lauren Gebauer (Columbus, Ohio) tied for 24th. Bassett shot a 19-over par 235 with rounds of 80-76-79 to finish14 strokes behind the top two finishers. Gebauer had the team’s best round of the day with a four-over par 76 after two rounds of 80 on Saturday for a 236.

Rebecca Rogers (Jr., Alpharetta, Ga.) tied for 36th with a 240 (78-79-83) and was followed by Katie Brophy (Fr., Spokane, Wash.) and Shannon Byrne (Jr., Arlington Heights, Ill.) as they tied for 43rd with 241 totals. Brophy turned in rounds of 78-80-83 in her first collegiate tournament and Byrne shot 81-79-81 for her 241. Karen Lotta (So., Los Angeles, Calif.) rounded out the Irish golfers as she tied for 54th with a 247 (80-84-83).

The Irish return to action next Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 28-29 when they host the third annual Notre Dame Invitational at the Warren Golf Course. The 18-team tournament will begin at 8:00 a.m. each morning with a shotgun start.

FINAL TEAM RESULTS (54-hole totals): 1. Kent State 299-310-298-907; 2. Wisconsin 302-305-307-914; 3. Michigan State 300-300-316-916; 4. Illinois 316-299-306-921; 5. Kansas State 315-302-314-631; 6. Michigan 312-305-317-934; 7. Nebraska 311-315-314-940; t8. Iowa 313-314-326-953; Western Michigan 314-317-322-953; 10. Notre Dame 316-314-326-956; 11. Ohio University 316-320-322-958; 12. Eastern Michigan 322-332-333-987; 13. Ferris State 336-321-338-995.

FINAL TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 77): t1. Sarah Sasse (Nebraska) 75-74-72-221; Allison Fouch (Michigan State) 75-72-74-221; 3. Gabby Wedding (Kent State) 74-77-71-222; 4. Erica Bieniek (Western Michigan) 71-75-77-223; t5. Malinda Johnson (Wisconsin) 76-73-75-224; Renata Young (Illinois) 76-72-76-224; 7. Miranda Smith (Kansas State) 77-71-77-225; 8. Martina Gillen (Kent State) 76-75-75-226; t9. Michelle Carroll (Illinois) 80-73-75-228; Veronique Drouin (Kent State) 74-78-76-228.

NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (of 77): t21. Sarah Bassett 80-76-79-235; t24. Lauren Gebauer 80-80-76-236; t36. Rebecca Rogers 78-79-83-240; t43. Katie Brophy 78-80-83-241; Shannon Byrne 81-79-81-241; t54. Karen Lotta 80-84-83-247.