Sept. 17, 1999
MADISON, Wis. – The injury-depleted Notre Dame women’s golf team opened its 1999 fall season by shooting a 320 score in the play-six, count-four format during first day action of the three-round Lady Northern Invitational, at University Ridge Golf Course.
The Irish head into Saturday’s action holding down eighth place in the 16-player field, just four strokes behind Kent, 11 behind Penn State and 12 back of Indiana.
Notre Dame senior captain Andrea Klee remains out indefinitely with a forearm injury suffered during the summer of ’99 while junior Mary Klein was a late scratch from the tournament due to a sore neck problem. Klein (82.73) and Klee (82.86) paced the Irish during the 1998-99 season with near-identical season stroke averages.
Senior Beth Cooper posted Notre Dame’s top first-round score on Friday, with a seven-over 79 on the par-72, 5,962-yard course. Cooper owns a share of 25th place in the 80-player event while Irish junior Shane Smith and sophomore Kristin McMurtrie are one stroke back after first-round 80s.
Notre Dame freshman Priscilla Ro-who was added to the starting lineup in place of Klein-made the most of her opportunity, carding an 81 in her first round with the Irish.
Northwestern (302) leads the annual event, which rotates sites throughout the Midwest. Purdue is just one stroke behind the Wildcats, followed closely by Ohio State (304) and the host Wisconsin (306).
Purdue’s Stacy Orschell and Wisconsin’s Andrea Meeker will head into Saturday as the tournament’s co-leaders, after shooting one-under 71 in the first round.
Other Notre Dame first-round scores included an 85 from junior Danielle Villarosa and an 89 from her classmate Becca Schloss.
TEAM STANDINGS (18 holes of 54): 1. Northwestern 302, 2. Purdue 303, 3. Ohio State 304, 4. Wisconsin 306, 5. Indiana 308, 6. Penn State 309, 7. Kent 316, 8. Notre Dame 320, 9. Iowa 323, 10. Michigan State 324, 11. Michigan 325, 12. Minnesota 326, 13. Illinois State 327, Southern Illinois 327, 15. Illinois 345, 16. Northern Illinois 353.
TOP INDIVIDUALS (of 80): 1. Stacy Orschell (PUR) 71, Andrea Meeker (WIS) 71, 3. Tiffany Fisher (IU) 72, 4. Andrea Lavelle (PSU) 73, Elizabeth Burden (NW) 73, Jamie Rishel (OSU) 73.
NOTRE DAME SCORES: 25. Beth Cooper 79, 30. Shane Smith 80, 30. Kristin McMurtrie 80, 34. Priscilla Ro 81, 69. Danielle Villarosa 85, 85. Becca Schloss 89.