Sept. 30, 2001

Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s golf team turned in its best round of the tournament on Sunday with a 326 total, but it wasn’t enough to catch tournament winner, Iowa, as the Hawkeyes turned in a final round 313 on the way to their 54-hole total of 968. The Irish finished with a 985 total, 17 strokes behind Iowa, 12 behind second place Wichita State and three behind third place Arkansas-Little Rock in the second annual Notre Dame Invitational played at the Warren Golf Course on the Notre Dame campus.

Notre Dame placed three golfers in the top 20 and were led by freshman Karen Lotta (Los Angeles, Calif.) who shot an 80 in her final round on Sunday for a 244 total (85-79-80), 12 strokes behind individual winner Amy Lee of Wichita State, who started the day in second place, but shot a one-over par 73 to overtake Iowa’s Heather Suhr for the medalist honors. Lee had a 232 total (80-79-73) while Suhr turned in rounds of 83, 75 and 75 for a 233 mark. Heather Brooks of Wichita State was third with a 241 (82-82-77) while Northern Iowa’s Jenny Heinz was fourth with a 243 total. Four golfers finished tied for fifth with 243.

Iowa turned in rounds of 336, 319 and 313 on the way to its 968. The Hawkeyes started the day tied for first with Wichita State after 36 holes with 655 totals but edged the Shockers by five strokes for the win. Only five teams finished the tournament with under 1,000 strokes as Northern Iowa trailed Notre Dame by five strokes for fifth place with a 989 total.

Joining Lotta for the Irish in the top 20 were sophomore Shannon Byrne (Arlington Heights, Ill.) who tied for 10th with a 246 (79-85-82) and senior Kristin McMurtrie (Calgary, Alb.) who tied for 16th with a 248 total on rounds of 84, 82 and 82.

Junior Terri Taibl (Elm Grove, Wisc.) tied for 25th with a 252 (82-86-84), Jeanne Murphy (So., Alexandria, Va.) tied for 36th with a 256 (83-85-88) and Rebecca Rogers (So., Alpharetta, Ga.) rounded out the scoring six in a tie for 56th with a 262 (95-85-82).

The remaining members of the Irish squad played as individual entrants. Freshman Casey Rotella (Keswick, Va.) tied for 31st with a 254 total on rounds of 80-89-85. Senior Lauren Fuchs (Louisville, Ky.) was 41st with a 257 (86-86-85) and junior Shelby Strong (Stillwater, Minn.) tied for 63rd with a 267 (84-87-96). For Lotta and Rotella, the Notre Dame Invitational was the first tournaments of their Notre Dame careers.

The women’s golf team returns to action on Oct. 8-9 when they participate in the Shootout at the Legends at the Legends of Indiana Course in Franklin, Ind.

TEAM RESULTS (54-hole totals): 1. Iowa 336-319-313-986, 2. Wichita State 327-328-318-973, 3. Arkansas-Little Rock 331-336-315-982, 4. Notre Dame 328-331-326-985, 5. Northern Iowa 332-325-332-989, 6. Western Michigan 336-327-338-1001, 7. Northern Illinois 341-339-323-1003, 8. Butler University 343-333-333-1009, 9. Cincinnati 333-342-340-1015, 10. Ball State 348-337-332-1017, tie 11. Xavier 338-344-337-1019, Creighton 351-336-332-1019, 13. S.W. Missouri State 341-360-335-1036, 14. Texas-Pan American 364-347-357-1068, 15. Evansville 370-368-367-1105.

TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 89): 1. Amy Lee (Wichita State) 80-79-73-232, 2. Heather Suhr (Iowa) 83-75-75-233, 3. Heather Brooks (Wichita State) 82-82-77-241, 4. Jenny Heinz 82-83-77-242, tie 5. Allison Beam (No. Illinois) 84-80-79-243, Abby Fowler (Xavier) 78-84-81-243, Katie Yoder (Western Michigan) 80-83-80-243, Laura Holmes (Iowa) 87-78-78-243, 9. Karen Lotta (Notre Dame) 85-79-80-244, 10. Shannon Byrne 79-85-82-246, Maria Jose Hurtado (Arkansas-Little Rock) 79-81-86-246.

OTHER NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (of 89): t16. Kristin McMurtrie 84-82-82-246, t25 Terri Taibl 82-86-84-252, t31 Casey Rotella 80-89-85-254, t36. Jeanne Murphy 83-85-88-256, 41. Lauren Fuchs 86-86-85-257, t56. Rebecca Rogers 95-85-82-262, t63. Shelby Strong 84-87-96-267.