Junior Lisa Maunu etched her name in Notre Dame history after the first round of the Cougar Classic Sunday. The co-captain shot a school-record round of six-under par (66) at the Yeamans Hall Golf Club in Hanahan, S.C.
In the 2004-05 campaign, then-senior Karen Lotta set the previous program best round with a score of four-under par (68). Maunu's record-setting day has her leading the field by two strokes. The top score helped to propel the Irish within one shot of first place as a team with a mark of 287. This score is two strokes off the program best mark for a single round of golf.
Alabama and Louisiana State are tied atop the leaderboard with a team score of 286. Texas and Tennessee are behind the Irish in a tie at 288 to round out the top five.
Freshman So-Hyun Park, playing in her first collegiate tournament, shot a two-under par (70). The recruit ranked ninth in the nation by the American Junior Golf Association is in a five-way tie for seventh place.
The third-best score on the day for the Irish belonged to sophomore Annie Brophy. The second-year golfer put up a three-over par (75) for the first round and stands in a tie for 48th place.
Fellow sophomore Kristin Wetzel carded a four-over par (76), which placed her in a tie for 54th place. Rounding out the top five finishers for Notre
Dame was freshman Katie Conway, who shot a six-over par (78) on the day, leaving her in a tie for 73rd.
Tee times for the second round begin today at 7:40 a.m. Notre Dame will look to build upon its record-setting day in an attempt to climb the leader board and begin the season with a tournament victory.
The Cougar Classic will finish Tuesday afternoon, giving the Irish less than a week to prepare for the Napa River Grill Cardinal Cup in Louisville, Ky.
