Women's Golf Starts Spring Break At Peggy Kirk Bell Invitational

March 9, 2003

Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s golf team begins its spring break in Orlando, Fla., where they will begin play on Monday, March 10th at the Peggy Kirk Bell Invitational at the Tuscawilla Country Club. The prestigious tournament is named after Peggy Kirk Bell, the former Rollins College golfer and a pioneer on the women’s pro golf tour.

Dates and Times: The Peggy Kirk Bell Invitational will start on Monday, March 10 at 8:00 a.m. with the two rounds of 18 scheduled for Monday and the final 18 on Tuesday, March 11.

Irish Lineup: Coach Debby King’s entire roster will play in the tournament with five golfers participating among the scoring five and the other four playing as individual entrants.

Notre Dame’s starting five will include: Sarah Bassett (Fr., Spokane, Wash.), Katie Brophy (Fr., Spokane, Wash.), Karen Lotta (So., Los Angeles, Calif.), Shannon Byrne (Jr., Arlington Heights, Ill.) and Rebecca Rogers (Jr., Alpharetta, Ga.).

The remaining four members of the roster who will play as individuals are: Lauren Barbir (Fr., Montgomery, Texas), Suzie Hayes (Fr., Dublin, Ireland), Lauren Gebauer (Fr., Columbus, Ohio) and Terri Taibl (Sr., Elm Grove, Wis.).

Last Tournament: Notre Dame finished 14th in the 22-team Edwin Watts/Carolinas Collegiate Classic. The Irish shot a 54-hole total of 992 (338-333-321) in their first tournament of the spring and their first action outdoors since November. Sarah Bassett was Notre Dame’s top finisher as she tied for 46th with a 54-hole total of 246 after rounds of 84, 79 and 83. Katie Brophy was one stroke behind with a 247 (86-85-76) to tie for 48th. Her third-round 76 was the best round of the tournament for the Irish.

Irish Leaders: Three freshmen lead the Irish after the fall schedule. Sarah Bassett is the team leader with a 78.55 average in 18 rounds of play. She is followed by Katie Brophy (79.83 in 21 rounds) and Lauren Gebauer (80.53 in 15 rounds of play). Karen Lotta ranks fourth on the team with an 80.61 mark in 18 rounds while Shannon Byrne (80.95) and Rebecca Rogers (81.29) have career-best averages after 21 rounds in the fall. Suzie Hayes (81.67), Terri Taibl (81.92) and Lauren Barbir (83.22) will be seeing their first action of the spring.

Tournament Results: Results will be available on the Notre Dame website at und.com after 11:00 p.m. on each day of tournament play.

Next For The Irish: Notre Dame’s women’s golf team continues Spring Break in Florida on March 13-14 when they participate in the Northern Illinois Snowbird Invitational at the Pebblecreek Country Club in Tampa, Fla.