May 10, 2017
By Dan Colleran
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Notre Dame women’s golfer Emma Albrecht shot a final round, two-over par 74 to finish tied for 13th (75-75-74–224) at the 2017 NCAA Columbus Regional on Wednesday at Ohio State’s Scarlet Course (Par 72/6,416 Yards). Her 13th-place tie marks the second-best finish by a Notre Dame women’s golfer in NCAA Regional play.
“Emma played really well this week,” Notre Dame head coach Susan Holt said. “For her to play three rounds as consistently as she did was really impressive. The course setup and the conditions were very challenging. She had a great showing and I am really proud of how she represented Notre Dame.”
After a double bogey on her first hole of the day, Albrecht caught fire for the remainder of the front nine, turning in four pars to go along with birdies on No. 4, No. 5, No. 8 and No. 9. She finished the front nine at two-under par (34). On the back nine, she shot a four-over par 40 to card a 74. She finished with five birdies on the day.
For the tournament, Albrecht had one of the 10 total eagles, played the par-3’s at a one-over par clip and ranked tied for seventh in the field with nine birdies.
In addition to the second-best NCAA Regional finish in program history, behind Nicole Zhang’s tie for eighth in 2011, Albrecht’s 224 total tied for the sixth-best mark in program history in NCAA Regional play.
With top-six finishes, Florida, South Carolina, Florida State, Ohio State, Purdue and Michigan all advanced to the 2017 NCAA NCAA Championship, May 19-24, hosted by Northern Illinois University at Rich Harvest Farms, in Sugar Grove, Illinois.
The three individuals who also advanced out of the Columbus Regional included Cara Gorlei (Arkansas), Camila Serrano (Florida International) and Maddie Szeryk (Texas A&M). Albrecht finished two strokes behind Szeryk.
Monday’s Opening Round
Albrecht hit the shot of the day on Monday at the par-4 11th hole when she holed out from 180 yards with a hybrid for the day’s only eagle. Albrecht also birdied the par-4 first hole and carded 10 pars on the round.
Tuesday’s Second Round
Albrecht shot a second round, three-over par 75, marking her second consecutive 75. After two rounds of play, the sophomore she was tied for 18th. Albrecht carded three birdies during her second round and finished the back nine at an even-par clip. Playing against strong winds, she totaled 10 pars for the second consecutive day as well.
NCAA Notes
Albrecht is the second player in program history to make the NCAA Championship field as an individual entrant, joining Noriko Nakazaki, who played in the 2007 NCAA Central Regional in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Notre Dame women’s golf team has either made an NCAA Regional as a team or sent an individual entrant in each of the past 11 seasons.
Season Snapshot
Albrecht tied for 17th at the 2017 ACC Championship at the Reserve Golf Club Pawleys Island, which concluded play on April 15 in Pawleys Island, South Carolina. She finished the tournament at three-over par (74-72-73-219) and led the 60-player field with 43 pars over the three rounds of play.
Albrecht carried a 73.44 stroke average into NCAA play. Prior to the NCAA Regional, she played all of Notre Dame’s nine events in 2016-17 and was the top Fighting Irish finisher five times.
Albrecht opened the season by firing a two-under par 211 (69-73-69) to tie for 10th at the Schooner Fall Classic in Norman, Oklahoma (Sept. 24-26). During five second-semester tournaments, Albrecht lowered her stroke average to 72.8 and was Notre Dame’s top finisher four times.
— ND —
Dan Colleran, associate athletics communications director at the University of Notre Dame, has been a part of Fighting Irish Media since August 2015 and coordinates all media and publicity efforts surrounding the Notre Dame hockey and golf programs. A native of Walpole, Massachusetts, Colleran spent the previous three years working with the men’s hockey and soccer programs at Providence College. Colleran also spent two years as an Assistant Executive Director of Communications & Championships at the Ivy League and is a graduate of Providence College (’06 & ’08G).