Sept. 8, 2017
By Dan Colleran
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The Notre Dame women’s golf team will open the 2017-18 season on Monday, Sept. 11 at the Minnesota Invitational, which will be contested at the Prestwick Golf Club in Woodbury, Minnesota.
2017 Minnesota Invitational
Dates: September 11-12
Format: 54 holes (36 holes Monday, 18 holes Tuesday)
Location: Woodbury, Minnesota
Course (Par/Yardage): The Prestwick Golf Club (par 72/6,248 yards)
Tee Times: Begin at 8:45 a.m. ET on Monday, pairings TBA.
Tournament Field (14 teams): BYU, East Carolina, Georgia, Kansas, Kansas State, Louisville, Michigan State, Minnesota, North Texas, University of Notre Dame, Purdue, University of Southern California, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin.
Notre Dame Lineup: Emma Albrecht (1), Abby Heck (2), Maddie Rose Hamilton (3), Alison Snakard (4), Isabella DiLisio (5).
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com
Twitter: @NDwomensGolf
On The Lineup
“[Team] Qualifying went well,” head coach Susan Holt said. “We had most of our scores at 75 or better, which is great to see from this group at this point in the season. Practices have been very focused and productive and I know the players are ready to tee it up and compete.”
Juniors Albrecht (62), Hamilton (53) and DiLisio (59) enter the season having each played over 50 rounds in their first two seasons with the the Irish.
“We have three juniors that have played in every event since they arrived on campus and the experience and leadership they will provide this team will be key this year,” Holt added.
Albrecht, who qualified for the United States Golf Association’s 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur golf championship this past summer, is coming off a sophomore season in which she qualified for the NCAA Columbus Regional as an individual entrant and posted the third-lowest season stroke average in program history (73.56).
One of the players the junior class will provide leadership for is freshman Abby Heck, who is set to make her Irish debut in the No. 2 position. Heck, a Memphis, Tennessee native, is a two-time individual state champion, while also leading St. Agnes Academy to three state championships. The highly regarded junior golfer was also the Valedictorian of her graduating class.
Maddie Rose Hamilton will start the season in the No. 3 spot in the Fighting Irish lineup. She made seven starts for Notre Dame in 2016-17 and posted a 75.38 stroke average (fourth-lowest on team) and carded three under par rounds. She now has a career stroke average of 75.67.
Senior Alison Snakard will start from the No. 4 position and will be looking to build off her close to last season, which included shooting a career-best 73 in the first round of the 2017 ACC Championship. She enters the 2017-18 season having played in 11 tournaments during her Irish career.
DiLisio will tee it up for the Irish from the No. 5 position. The junior, who earned 2016-17 WGCA (Women’s Golf Coach Association) All-American Scholar honors, finished her sophomore season with a 74.77 stroke average, which was the second lowest mark on the team. She also finished second on the team with seven combined even (2) and under par (5) rounds.
On The Course
The Fighting Irish are appearing in the event for the first time but the tournament, which had typically been played at the Minikahda Club in Minneapolis, Minnesota, will move to the Prestwick Golf Club in Woodbury, Minnesota for the first time.
“We’ve not been to this event before but Prestwick Golf Club is rated as one of the top three public courses in Minnesota so it should be a great championship venue,” Holt said. “The field is very strong with nine of the teams having advanced to postseason play last year. I think the quality of this field gives a chance to get some very good head-to-head wins to start the season, which is always a good way to start out.”
The Irish Under Holt
Head Coach Susan Holt begins her 12th season leading the Irish. Over the previous 11 seasons, Holt has led Notre Dame to nine NCAA regional appearances and helped Notre Dame earn its first NCAA Championship berth in program history (2011). In addition, the Irish have captured four conference titles, won 16 tournament championships (team), had 14 individual medalist winners. Her players have also earned 27 all-conference accolades as well as the first two All-America selections in Notre Dame women’s golf history.
Up Next
After opening the season at the Minnesota Invitational, the Irish will head to Norman, Oklahoma for the fourth consecutive season to take part in the 2017 Schooner Fall Classic (Sept. 23-25). In 2016, the Irish tied for sixth, shooting an 871 (283-298-290) at the par 71 course.
— 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).