April 7, 2001

Bloomington, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame women’s golf team fired rounds of 339 and 337 over the first two rounds of the Indiana Invitational and are 14th after the opening day of play with a 36-hole total of 676. The Irish trail tournament leader, Michigan State, by 49 strokes going into Sunday’s final round of play. MSU shot a 627 (314-313) on the 6,134-yard, par 74 Indiana University Golf Course for a one-stroke lead over Ohio State and Indiana.

Indiana led the 15-team tournament after 18 holes with a 309 total, but shot a 319 in the second round for a 628 total. Ohio State opened with a 316 and closed the day with a 312 for the Buckeyes’ 628 total. Kent State with a 629 (312-317) and Northwestern with a 635 (317-318) round out the top five teams in the tournament.

Leading Notre Dame’s contingent on Saturday was senior Shane Smith (St. Petersburg, Fla.) who is tied for 32nd with a 15-over par total of 163. Smith opened with an 81 and followed with an 82. She is 16 strokes behind Michigan State’s Emily Bastel who leads the tournament with a one-under par 147 on rounds of 74 and 73. Bastel has a three-stroke lead over Kent State’s Martina Gillen who is two-over par with a 150 total as she shot rounds of 77 and 73.

Following Smith for the Irish was freshman Shannon Byrne (Arlington Heights, Ill.) who is six strokes behind Smith with a 36-hole total of 169 as she opened with an 82 and closed the day with a round of 87 to tie for 57th overall.

Rounding out Notre Dame’s five golfers was sophomore Terri Taibl (Elm Grove, Wisc.), who is tied for 60th with a 170 total (89-81). She is followed by senior Danielle Villarosa (Verona, N.J.) who was tied for 69th after 36-holes as she recorded rounds of 87 and 89 for a 176 total and junior Kristin McMurtrie (Calgary, Alb.) finished the opening day in 74th place with a 178 (91-87).

The final round of play at the Indiana Invitational will begin on Sunday morning with a shotgun start beginning at 8:30 a.m.

TEAM RESULTS (36-hole totals):

1. Michigan State 314-313-627, 2. Ohio State 316-312-628, Indiana 309-319-628, 4. Kent State 312-317-629, 5. Northwestern 317-318-635, 6. Michigan 322-321-643, 7. Missouri 327-318-645, 8. Wisconsin 329-319-648, 9. Minnesota 328-322-650, 10. Ohio University 330-328-658, 11. Kansas 325-328-653, 12. Southern Illinois 338-332-670, 13. Iowa 345-327-672, 14. Notre Dame 339-337-676, 15. Illinois State 352-344-696.

TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 78):

1. Emily Bastel (Michigan State) 74-73-147, 2. Martina Gillen (Kent State) 77-73-150, 3. Amelia Moses (Missouri) 78-74-152, 4. Natalie Tucker (Indiana) 75-78-153, Tiffany Fisher (Indiana) 75-78-153, 6. Mollie Fankhauser (Ohio State) 76-78-154, 7. Jan Dowling (Kent State) 76079-155, Ashley Lowery (Ohio State) 78-77-155, Stacy Snider (Michigan State) 77-78-155, Katie Connelly 77-78-155.

NOTRE DAME SCORES:

t32. Shane Smith 81-82-163, t57. Shannon Byrne 82-87-169, t60. Terri Taibl 89-81-170, t69. Danielle Villarosa 87-89-176, 74. Kristin McMurtrie 91-87-178.