April 2, 2015
Bryan National Collegiate
Dates: April 3-5, 2015
Format: 54 holes (18 holes each day)
Tee Times: 8:20 a.m. ET Friday-Saturday (split-tee starts); 8:30 a.m. ET Sunday (shotgun start)
Location: Greensboro, N.C.
Course (Par/Yardage): Bryan Park Golf and Enrichment Center (par 72/6,386 yards)
Tournament Field (current Golfstat ranking): Auburn (34), College of Charleston (63), Florida (19), Florida State (35), GRU-Augusta (45), Kentucky (58), Louisville (41), Michigan State (71), North Carolina (51), UNC Greensboro (171), North Carolina State (40), UNC Wilmington (113), Northwestern (9), Notre Dame (30), Penn State (109), Vanderbilt (18), Virginia (12) and Wake Forest (13).
Notre Dame Lineup (2014-15 stroke average): Ashley Armstrong (73.81), Talia Campbell (73.57), Kelli Oride (75.76), Jordan Ferreira (74.43), Kari Bellville (77.24).
Live Scoring: www.golfstat.com
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — In the golf world, one of the perfect cures for a tough round or a difficult tournament is the chance to get right back on the course. The University of Notre Dame women’s golf team is hoping that will be the case, as the Fighting Irish look to bounce back from a sub-par performance last week when they take part in the 18th annual Bryan National Collegiate Friday through Sunday at the Bryan Park Golf and Enrichment Center (par 72/6,386 yards) in Greensboro, North Carolina.
It wasn’t that Notre Dame struggled badly at last week’s LSU Tiger Classic, as the Fighting Irish posted their best finish (eighth) in five appearances at the Baton Rouge tournament. However, on a weekend when Notre Dame was looking to continue building momentum for the conference and NCAA tournaments, its postseason push was slowed a bit by two uncharacteristically high team scores that gave up just enough strokes to prevent the Fighting Irish from a fourth consecutive top-five finish.
Notre Dame was in this position once before this season, coming off a 10th-place result in mid-October at the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Knoxville, Tennessee. One week later, the Fighting Irish were smiling brightly after a tie for third at the powerful Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, North Carolina, defeating eight Golfstat Top 25 teams and tying another while closing out the fall campaign on a high note.
This weekend’s Bryan National Collegiate not only provides Notre Dame with a chance to duplicate their fall redemption, but also a final opportunity to tune up before the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, which will take place in two weeks on the other side of Greensboro at the Sedgefield Country Club.
“I’m looking forward to the team getting the chance to put the disappointing finish at LSU behind them and getting back to playing the great golf we have played all year long,” Notre Dame head coach Susan Holt said. “It’s a great chance to get our confidence up as we head into the championship part of our season.”
The Bryan National Collegiate will feature seven of the 11 ACC schools that sponsor women’s golf, offering a potential preview of the upcoming conference tournament. In addition, five of the top 20 teams in the latest Golfstat rankings (and 11 of the top 50) will be teeing off in this weekend’s 18-team field, with Notre Dame squarely in the middle of that high-powered pack at No. 30 in the latest Golfstat survey.
This marks Notre Dame’s second appearance at the Bryan National Collegiate. In 2009, the Fighting Irish tied for 14th place in the event, which is co-hosted by UNC Greensboro and Wake Forest and has seen an ACC school take home the team title in nine of the 17 years the tournament has been contested.
“This is a great event for us to be able to play in,” Holt said. “The Bryan Park course is very challenging and will give us a chance to get quality rounds and practice in prior to the ACC tournament, while playing on similar grass and golf course terrain. I think this course will set up well for everyone on the team.”
Wake Forest will offer live scoring of the Bryan National Collegiate through the Golfstat web site (www.golfstat.com), while daily recaps on Notre Dame’s progress will be posted on the official Fighting Irish athletics web site (UND.com).
For more information on the Notre Dame women’s golf program, sign up to follow the Fighting Irish women’s golf Twitter pages (@NDsidMasters or @NDwomensGolf) or register for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system through the “Fan Center” pulldown menu on the front page at UND.com.
— Chris Masters, Associate Athletic Media Relations Director