May 20, 2011
BRYAN, Texas – The University of Notre Dame women’s golf team is in a tie for 23rd place (925/+61) Friday after the third day of the NCAA Championship at the Traditions Club Golf Course in Bryan, Texas. Junior Becca Huffer (Denver, Colo./Littleton) carded a one-over par 73 during the round and improved to a tie for 35th place. The Irish battled gusty winds on the course, but beat the rain and a two and a half hour rain delay that has forced six teams to complete the second round Saturday morning.
“We have one more round to play,” head coach Susan Holt said. “We have played too many good holes during the round to have the score we have. We have had to take too many big numbers on a course that if difficult to earn birdies. We need to play smarter and more disciplined as we enter the final day.”
Huffer remains atop the leaderboard for the Irish as the junior carded a 73 (+1) on the day. She posted two birdies and a bogey during the front nine for a 35 (-1), followed by three bogeys and a birdie on the back nine to finish the day at one-over par.
Freshman Nicole Zhang (Calgary, Alberta/Bishop Carroll) recorded her best round of the tournament so far with a two-over par 74. After beginning the day with a bogey on the first hole and the third hole, Zhang recovered with a birdie on the seventh hole to make the turn at one-over par. During the back nine she posted back-to-back bogeys on the 15th and 16th holes and finished the day by sinking a birdie to complete the third round at two-over par and in a tie for 73rd place.
Senior captain Katie Conway (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) posted an 80 (+8) on the day. She recorded a 38 (+2) during the front nine, but with three double bogeys, a bogey and a birdie Conway posted a six-over par 42 on the back nine of the course and is now in a tie for 88th place.
Senior So-Hyun Park (Seoul, South Korea/Bradenton Prep Academy) also registered an eight-over par total as she posted 40 (+4) during both the front and back nine of the course to round out the Irish score. The first hole continued to present a challenge for Park as she posted a bogey to begin the day.
Freshman Kristina Nhim (Cypress, Calif./Cypress) placed an 83 (+11) on the board. The front nine of the course was a challenge for the freshman as she played 10-over par, but improved to a 37 (+1) after the turn.
The Irish begin the final round of competition Saturday with a 9:30 a.m. (ET) tee time off of 10.
Top-10 Team Leaderboard
1. UCLA (289-295-584/+8) – only through 13 holes
2. Purdue (292-295-587/+11) – only through 13 holes
3. LSU (292-296-588/+12) – only through 13 holes
4. Virginia (291-300-299-890/+26)
5. Texas A&M (295-294-302-891/+27)
T6. Vanderbilt (297-294-304-895/+31)
T6. North Carolina (305-293-297-895/+31)
T8. Southern California (302-302-292-896/+32)
T8. Florida (294-298-592/+32) – only through 13 holes
Irish Leaderboard
T35. Becca Huffer (80-71-73-224/+8)
T73. Nicole Zhang (77-79-76-230/+14)
T88. Katie Conway (75-78-80-233/+17)
115. So-Hyun Park (81-82-80-243/+27)
T116. Kristina Nhim (76-85-83-244/+28)
–ND–