Oct. 19, 1999
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Notre Dame women's golf team closed its
fall season Tuesday with a first-place finish at the Butler Invitational,
with junior Mary Klein (Kokomo, Ind./Northwestern HS) posting a runner-up
finish in the individual competition at the par-71, 5,847-yard Saddlebrook
Golf Club.
Tuesday's action marked the first time in Notre Dame history that
the Irish men's and women's golf programs have won tournaments on the same
day, since the women's varsity program began in the fall of 1988.
The Irish followed up Monday's round of 311 with a 312 on Tuesday
in the play-five, count-four format for a 623 total, outdistancing
runner-up Xavier by 19 strokes. The 623 score ranks as the second-best
36-hole total in the program's history (trailing only the 607 that was
posted at the Midwest Classic in the spring of 1998).
The team title is the fourth in the 12-year history of the Notre
Dame women's golf program and the first since the Irish won the 16-team
Illinois Invitational in the spring of 1998.
Klein opened strong with a 72 on Monday and stood just two shots
off the lead before carding a final-round 78 for a 150 total, six strokes
behind Xavier's Paula Greening. Klein's 150 total ties for second in the
Irish record book, trailing only the five-over 149 by Katie King at the
1998 Midwest Classic.
All seven Notre Dame players posted solid scores on Tuesday, with
the Irish contingent combining for a 76, a 78, four 79s and an 82. Junior
Shane Smith finished alone in fifth place with a 153 total (77-76) while
three Irish players were tied for sixth at 160: freshman Priscilla Ro
(81-79), sophomore Kristin McMurtrie (81-79) and sophomore Lauren Fuchs
(78-82), who was competing as an individual entrant.
Smith, McMurtrie, Ro and Fuchs posted the first top-10 finishes of
their careers (Ro also tied for 10th at the Michigan Invitational) while
Klein registered the best finish of her career and her third career top-10
effort. Klein's previous best finish was fifth place at the Indiana
Invitational in the spring of 1998.
Freshman Terry Taibl (169 total) and junior Becca Schloss (162)
also posted final-round 79s, with Schloss competing as an individual
entrant.
Fuchs' 153 total ranks seventh in Irish history and she is just the
fifth different Notre Dame women's golfer ever to shoot 153 or lower in a
36-hole event.
The Irish played their entire fall season without the services of
senior captain Andrea Klee, who is sidelined indefinitely due to an arm
injury.
NOTES: Smith led the Irish in the fall with a 79.00 stroke average over
nine rounds (she had one DQ), which puts her in contention to challenge
King's season stroke-average record of 79.50 (set in 1997-98) ... other
fall of '99 stroke averages included: McMurtrie (81.00), Klein (81.43), Ro
(82.70), Schloss (85.57), junior Danielle Villarosa (85.75), Taibl (86.50)
and senior Beth Cooper (87.00) ... three different golfers posted team-best
scores at 1999 fall tournaments: Smith (Lady Northern and Michigan State),
Ro (Michigan) and Klein (Butler) ... Smith counted to the team score in
all nine of her fall rounds while McMurtrie counted in all 10 rounds she
played ... other fall rounds counted to the team score included: Ro (8 of
10), Klein (6 of 7), Villarosa (5 of 8), Schloss (2 of 5), Cooper (1 of 3),
Taibl (1 of 2) and Fuchs (0 of 3) ... Fuchs played four total rounds as an
individual while Taibl and Schloss played two rounds each as individual
entrants ... Klein dropped her career stroke average to 82.23 (down from
82.35 heading into the fall), which is tied with 1998 graduate Tracy Melby
for second in Irish history (King holds the record of 82.10) ... Smith has
a solid 83.03 average in 31 career rounds at Notre Dame (only King, Melby
and Klein rank higher in the Irish record book) while McMurtrie has settled
into an 83.62 career average over 29 rounds ... Klein has counted to the
Irish team score in 43 of 53 career rounds, followed by Smith (23 of 29
team rounds plated) and McMurtrie (19 of 24).
TEAM STANDINGS (18 holes of 36): 1. Notre Dame 311-312/623, 2. Xavier
325-317/642, 3. Western Michigan 333-314/647, 4. Loyola 333-324/657, 5.
Butler 330-348/678, 6. Youngstown State 344-338/682, 7. Eastern Illinois
348-30/688, 8. Xavier-B 346-350/696, 9. Oakland 353-361/714, 10.
Butler-B 384-379/763, 11. Franklin 384-392/776.
TOP INDIVIDUALS (of 59): 1. Paula Greening (XAV) 70-74/144, 2. Mary Klein
(ND) 72-78/150, 3. Melissa Beck (XAV) 76-75/151, Erica Bleniek (WMU)
80-71/151, 5. Shane Smith (ND) 77-76/153, 6. Lauren Fuchs (ND, indiv.)
78-82/160, Kristin McMurtrie (ND) 81-79/160, Priscilla Ro (ND)
81-79/160, Katie Yoder (WMU) 81-79/160, Samantha Keith (BUT) 82-78/160.
OTHER NOTRE DAME SCORES: 13. Becca Schloss (indiv.) 83-79/162, 36. Terry
Taibl 90-79/169.
