April 23, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Notre Dame women's golf team concluded its
1999-2000 season by tying for 10th place out of 16 teams at the Ohio State
Lady Buckeye Invitational, following final-round action Sunday at the
par-72, 6,126-yard OSU Scarlet Course.
Junior Mary Klein posted her third team-best finish of the season and the
eighth of her career, closing with a round of 81 for a 240 total and a
share of 22nd in the 99-player field.
Notre Dame's final-round 331 yielded a 979 total, dropping the Irish from
eighth to a 10th-place finish-eight strokes behind Louisville and Ohio
University.
Junior captain Shane Smith capped her stellar season with an 83 for a 240
total, yielding the third-best season stroke average in the 12-year history
of the Notre Dame women's golf program (80.38).
Junior Danielle Villarosa closed with an 81 for a 253 total while
sophomores Lauren Fuchs (86-253) and Kristin McMurtie (87-254) and freshman
Terri Taibl (89-277) rounded out Notre Dame's six-player starting
contingent. Irish freshmen Shelby Strong (82-250) completed an impressive
outing as an individual entrant while her classmate Priscilla Ro shot
91-261 as an individual competitor.
Notre Dame wrapped up the 1999-2000 season with the second-best team stroke
average (326.36) in Irish women's golf history. The Irish are set to return
eight of their top nine golfers for the 2000-2001 season-including three
who rank among the top five on the Irish career stroke average list-with
the only loss being junior Becca Schloss, who is scheduled to graduate
early (in August of 2000).
NOTES: Klein now ranks sixth in Notre Dame history for team-best finishes
(8) ... Smith posted the team's best stroke average for the spring (81.42)
and for 1999-2000 (80.38)-ranking third-best in Irish history, behind Katie
King's 1997-98 (79.50) and '96-'97 (80.17) averages ... Smith counted to
the four-player team score in all 21 of her rounds played this season,
joining Kathy Phares ('92-'93) as the only ND players ever to play in 21
rounds while counting in each (Phares was 21-for-21, with only two others
ever posting "perfect" rounds-counted seasons: Phares was 20-for-20 in
'90-'91, King 20-for-20 in '95-'96) ... Klein posted the team's second-best
average for the spring (81.92) while her 81.74 overall season average ranks
ninth in ND history ... McMurtrie slipped back to an 82.75 spring average
but her overall season average (81.96) ranks 11th in the Irish record book
... other updated spring averages included Villarosa (84.00), Fuchs
(85.42), Ro (85.80), Strong (86.83) and Taibl (89.90) ... other updated
1999-2000 averages include: Ro (83.73), Villarosa (84.70), Fuchs (85.74)
and Taibl (89.00) ... McMurtrie counted in 19 of her 22 rounds during
1999-2000 and Klein in 16 of 19, with the others: Ro (9 of 12, plus 3
indiv. rounds), Villarosa (12 of 18, plus 2), Fuchs (7 of 11, plus 8) and
Taibl (2 of 7, plus 5) ... ND's average four-player score for 1999-2000 was
326.36, which ranks second-best in the program's 12-year history (the
'97-'98 team averaged 319.83 and the '96-'97 team averaged 326.71) ...
Klein will head into her senior season with an 82.17 career
average-second-best in the ND record book behind King's 82.10 ('94-'98) ...
Smith (82.58) ranks fourth on the ND career stroke average list and
McMurtrie is fifth (83.37) ... Klein has counted in 53 of 65 career rounds,
Smith in 35 of 41 (plus 2 indiv. rds) and McMurtrie in 28 of 35 (plus 6).
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS: 1. Ohio State 311-315-303/929, 2. Michigan State
314-310-311/935, 3. Northwestern 316-318-307/935, 4. Indiana
317-318-308/943, 5. Kent 316-310-321/947, 6. Minnesota 324-325-320/969,
7. Wisconsin 321-321-329/ 971, Ohio 314-331-326/971, Louisville
324-328-319/971, 10. Penn State 333-325-321/979, Notre Dame
324-324-331/979, 12. Toledo 336-345-336/1017, 13. Princeton
334-352-332/1018, 14. Stetson 338-334-356 /1028, 14. Xavier 350
-347-332/1029, 16. Bowling Green 342-342-353/1037.
TOP INDIVIDUALS (of 99): 1 Kasey Gant (MSU) 75-76-76/227 , 2. Mollie
Fankhauser (OSU) 78 -74-76/228, 3. Katherine Mowat (LOU)77-76-76/229, 4.
Inga Snyder (IU) 76-79-7/229, 5. Emily Bastel (MSU) 77-79-74/230.
NOTRE DAME SCORES: 22. Mary Klein 81-78-81/240, 33. Shane Smith
81-79-83/243, 47. Shelby Strong (indiv.) 83-85-82/250, 54. Danielle
Villarosa 89-83-81/253, 54. Lauren Fuchs 83-84-86/253, 58. Kristin
McMurtrie 79-88-87/254, 80. Priscilla Ro (indiv.) 85-85-91/261, 93. Terri
Taibl 96-92-89/277.
