March 18, 2012
Mesa, Ariz. –
The Notre Dame women’s golf team closed out its weekend at the inaugural Notre Dame Clover Cup Tournament with a final-round total of 321, giving the Irish a 54-hole mark of 905 to finish fifth in the 12-team field. After getting two nice days of weather on Friday and Saturday, Sunday’s final round featured chilly temperatures and a pair of rain delays that slowed play.
Notre Dame’s 905 total put the Irish 49 strokes behind tournament champions – the University of Colorado – as the Buffs were nine-under par for the weekend with an 855 total. They opened with sub-par rounds on Friday and Saturday (277-281) before being nine-over for Sunday’s final round. Colorado finished 31 strokes ahead of second-place Oklahoma as the Sooners had an 886 mark for the 54 holes. Tulsa was third with an 892 and Texas Tech finished one stroke ahead of Notre Dame in fourth place with a 904 total.
The Clover Cup Tournament was played on the par-72, 6,209-yard Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz.
Notre Dame’s three-round total of 905 was the best final total for the Irish during the 2011-12 campaign, surpassing the 909 mark they had at the Tar Heel Invitational last October.
Senior Becca Huffer (Denver, Colo.) was Notre Dame’s top finisher in the tournament as she shot a two-over par 74 for her final round to give her a five-over par 221 and a tie for eighth place in the field of 71 golfers. Only three golfers had better rounds in Sunday’s rainy finish and the 221 was her second-best finish of the season. Huffer opened with rounds of 72 and 75 on the way to her third top-10 finish this season.
A pair of Irish golfers finished in a tie for 15th. Freshman Ashley Armstrong (Flossmoor, Ill.) and sophomore Kristina Nhim (Cypress, Calif.) each had an eight-over par 224 for the 54-hole tournament.
Armstrong started Sunday’s final round in fifth place after rounds of 67 and 74 but was 11-over on Sunday with an 83 for her 224. Nhim also started her final round in the top 10 as she was even par 144 after a pair of 72s but finished with an eight-over mark of 80 on Sunday for her 224.
Finishing fourth among the Notre Dame squad was freshman Kelli Oride (Lihue, Hawaii) who tied for 44th with a 236 after posting an 84 to go with rounds of 77 and 75 at the Longbow Golf Club.
Senior Katie Allare (Phoenix, Ariz.) rounded out the Notre Dame contingent as she finished 63rd overall with a 248 (75-85-86).
The individual tournament title went to Colorado’s Jessica Wallace who was one of three golfers to shoot an even par 72 in Sunday’s final round. She finished with a five-under par 211 after opening rounds of 70 and 69 had her tied for third after 36 holes.
Wallace edged out teammates Alex Stewart (213) and Emily Talley (215) who finished second and third and were among four Colorado golfers in the top six finishers.
Oklahoma’s Chirapat Jao-Javanil and Tulsa’s Kristina Merkle tied for fourth with 217 totals while Colorado’s fourth finisher Jennifer Coleman and Texas Tech’s Gabriella Dominquez had 220 finishes to finish in the top seven spots ahead of Notre Dame’s Huffer.
Coach Susan Holt’s squad will now have a week off before returning to action at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic from March 30 to April 1. That tournament will be played at the University of Georgia Golf Club in Athens, Ga.
TEAM RESULTS (54-hole totals): 1. Colorado 277-281-297-855; 2. Oklahoma 289-292-305-886; 3. Tulsa 294-292-306-892; 4. Texas Tech 296-303-305-904; 5. Notre Dame 288-296-321-905; 6. Minnesota 293-307-308-908; 7. Florida International 292-307-310-909; t8. Iowa State 295-304-316-915; Furman 292-320-303-915; 10. Michigan 306-316-310-932; 11. SMU 302-331-319-952; 12. Cincinnati 323-318-641.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 71): 1. Jessica Wallace (Colorado) 70-69-72-211; 2. Alex Stewart (Colorado) 68-71-74-213; 3. Emily Talley (Colorado) 66-72-77-215; t4. Chirapat Jao-Javanil (Oklahoma) 71-71-75-217; Kristina Merkle (Tulsa) 68-70-79-217; t6. Jennifer Coleman (Colorado) 73-69-78-220; Gabriella Dominquez (Texas Tech) 74-69-77-220; t8. Becca Huffer (Notre Dame) 72-75-74-221; Taylor Schmidt (Oklahoma) 72-77-72-221; 10. Kimberly Kaufman (Texas Tech) 70-80-72-222.
NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (of 71): t8. Becca Huffer; 72-75-74-221; t15. Ashley Armstrong 67-74-83-224; t15. Kristina Nhim, 72-72-80-224; t44. Kelli Oride, 77-75-84-236; 63. Katie Allare, 77-85-86-248.