Feb. 22, 2016
PEORIA, Ariz. – Consistency is one of the hallmarks of all great golf programs, and the No. 21 University of Notre Dame women’s golf team continued to take steps in that direction on Monday, finishing sixth at the Westbrook Spring Invitational, which was played on the Vistas Course (par 72/6,269 yards) at the Westbrook Village Golf Club in Peoria, Arizona.
Notre Dame carded a three-round total of one-over par 865 (286-290-289), the fifth-lowest 54-hole score in school history and third time in the past four tournaments the Fighting Irish have shot better than 870. Prior to this season, Notre Dame had shot sub-870 only three times on par-72 courses in the program’s first 27 years of existence.
Notre Dame’s finish could have been even better, as the Fighting Irish were poised for a top-three showing before giving back four strokes to the field in their final three holes.
Senior captain Talia Campbell (Dallas, Texas/Ursuline Academy) and freshman Isabella DiLisio (Hatfield, Pa./Mount Saint Joseph Academy) tied for top honors among Fighting Irish golfers, sharing ninth place at two-under par 214. Campbell posted rounds of 72, 69 and 73, while DiLisio shot 69-74-71 to tie her career low that she originally set Oct. 5-6 at Nebraska’s Chip-N Club Invitational.
“We had an opportunity today to have a better finish and just didn’t get it done,” Notre Dame head coach Susan Holt said. “This course is an equalizer in that it’s set up to shoot low scores. We just didn’t go as low as we needed to.
“Nevertheless, I saw a lot of consistent play from our players and am pleased with where we are at this point in the spring season,” Holt added. “I think we are ahead of the curve overall and looking forward to our spring break trip in a few weeks. That week will really help us fine tune things as we head into a stretch of three tournaments in a four-week span.”
Oregon won this year’s 15-team Westbrook Spring Invitational at 10-under par 854, five shots clear of runner-up Ohio State. Notre Dame wound up among a group of four teams in places 3-6 that were separated by a mere four strokes in the final standings, with the Fighting Irish adding another top-25 win to their resume, defeating No. 16 San Diego State by four shots.
SDSU’s Emma Henrikson and Wisconsin’s Brooke Ferrell earned tournament co-medalist honors after both players shot five-under par 211.
Freshman Emma Albrecht (Ormond Beach, Fla./Father Lopez) was in red numbers for much of Monday’s final round, but two bogeys in her final four holes tripped up the Fighting Irish rookie. Albrecht ended up tying for 33rd place at three-over par 219 (71-75-73) for the tournament.
Freshman Maddie Rose Hamilton (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy) made a move up the individual standings on the final day, sharing 48th place at six-over par 222 (74-76-72). Hamilton closed out the tournament in remarkable fashion with an eagle on her final hole (Westbrook’s No. 5) after previously having strung together 15 consecutive pars during the heart of the round.
Sophomore Kari Bellville (Granger, Ind./Penn) rounded out the Fighting Irish starting lineup, tying for 79th place at 15-over par 231 (76-72-83).
Junior Jordan Ferreira (University Place, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) competed as an individual participant and ended up with a share of 56th place at eight-over par 224 (78-74-72), thanks in part to two birdies on her final three holes that got her final round score back to level par.
Notre Dame swings back into action March 11-13 when it plays host to the fifth annual Clover Cup at the Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Arizona. Live scoring will be available through the BirdieFire web site (BirdieFire.com), with in-progress updates also provided through the Fighting Irish women’s golf Twitter feed (@NDwomensGolf).
For more information on the Notre Dame women’s golf program, visit the women’s golf page of the official Fighting Irish athletics web site (UND.com/ndwomensgolf), sign up to follow the Notre Dame women’s golf Twitter feed (@NDwomensGolf) or register for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system through the “Fan Center” pulldown menu on the front page at UND.com.
Westbrook Spring Invitational
Feb. 21-22, 2016
Westbrook Village Golf Club ââ’¬” Vistas Course (par 72/6,269 yards)
Peoria, Arizona
FINAL TEAM SCORES (54-hole totals): 1. Oregon 854 (285-282-287); 2. Ohio State 859 (287-288-284); 3. Kansas State 861 (289-284-288); 4. UNLV 863 (285-288-290); 5. SMU 864 (291-291-282); 6. NOTRE DAME 865 (286-290-289); 7. Oregon State 868 (285-298-285); 8. San Diego State 869 (286-296-287); 9. Iowa 871 (293-292-286); 10. Wisconsin 874 (293-291-290); 11. Illinois 877 (294-293-290); 12. Indiana 881 (293-292-296); 13. (tie) College of Charleston 886 (302-295-289) and Nebraska 886 (293-301-292); 15. Washington State 887 (296-298-293).
TOP EIGHT INDIVIDUALS PLUS NOTRE DAME GOLFERS (of 86): 1. Emma Henrikson (SDSU) 211 (69-73-79) and Brooke Ferrell (UW) 211 (71-71-69); 3. (tie) Erin Harper (IU) 212 (72-70-70), Cathleen Santoso (UO) 212 (73-69-70), Caroline Inglis (UO) 212 (70-69-73), Connie Jaffrey (KSU) 212 (71-69-72) and Jenny Haglund (SMU) 212 (72-71-69); 8. Katherine Gravel-Coursol (KSU) 213 (72-68-73); 9. (tie) Talia Campbell (ND) 214 (72-69-73) and Isabella DiLisio (ND) 214 (69-74-71); 33. (tie) Emma Albrecht (ND) 219 (71-75-73); 48. (tie) Maddie Rose Hamilton (ND) 222 (74-76-72); 56. (tie) Jordan Ferreira (ND)* 224 (78-74-72); 79. (tie) Kari Bellville (ND) 231 (76-72-83).
* – competed as individual participant
– ND –
Chris Masters, associate athletics communications director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2001 and coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame women’s golf and women’s basketball programs. A native of San Francisco, California, Masters is a 1996 graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University, earned his master’s degree from Kansas State University in 1998, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).