March 28, 2015
BATON ROUGE, La. — One of the hallmarks of any good golfer is the ability to put a poor round behind them. When an entire team exhibits a similar short memory, you have a squad capable of competing with any other in the country.
Just 24 hours after battling through its highest team score of the season, the University of Notre Dame women’s golf team rebounded in a big way, shaving 20 strokes off that total and jumping into fifth place after Saturday’s second round of the LSU Tiger Classic, which is being contested at the University Club (par 72/6,251 yards) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The 30th-ranked Fighting Irish have a two-round score of 28-over par 604 (312-292), putting Notre Dame solidly in the top five of the 16-team tournament, as well as in front of two Top 25 teams — No. 10 Wake Forest (by 10 strokes) and No. 21 UCF (by 14 strokes). Host (and sixth-ranked) LSU holds the 36-hole overnight lead at 577 (+1), 13 shots ahead of Tulane.
“I’m very happy with the way the team put yesterday’s round behind them and responded with a solid round today,” Notre Dame head coach Susan Holt said. “Conditions were much better today and we took advantage of it.”
Senior captain Ashley Armstrong (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) showed the mental fortitude that has made her not only a two-year captain and one of the program’s all-time stroke average leaders, but also a two-time Academic All-America selection. Armstrong bounced back from her worst score of the season by tying her best, firing a second-round 69 to rise into a tie for 15th place at five-over par 149 (80-69).
LSU’s Madelene Sagstrom is the individual leader through two rounds at four-under par 140, two shots clear of teammate Elise Bradley.
“Ashley played really well,” Holt said. “She hit 12 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens in regulation. On this course, a score of 69 is a really impressive round.”
Junior Talia Campbell (Dallas, Texas/Ursuline Academy) and senior Kelli Oride (Lihue, Hawaii/Kauai) added their own veteran leadership to Notre Dame’s Saturday charge, mirroring each other’s results for the second day in a row to earn shares of 18th place at seven-over par 151 (77-74).
Much like Armstrong, sophomore Jordan Ferreira (University Place, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) shrugged off her own season-worst round by trimming six shots and moving into a 44th-place tie at 12-over par 156 (81-75).
Freshman Kari Bellville (Granger, Ind./Penn) completed the Fighting Irish scoring, tying for 72nd place through two rounds at 17-over par 161 (78-83).
“Talia finished up with two birdies, and Kelli and Jordan overcame some tough holes to post great rounds,” Holt added. “It was a great team effort all the way around.”
Notre Dame will tee off at 9:30 a.m. ET (8:30 a.m. CT) Sunday in the final round of the LSU Tiger Classic, with live scoring available through the Golfstat web site (www.golfstat.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.
LSU Tiger Classic
March 27-28, 2015 — Through Two Rounds
University Club (par 72/6,251 yards)
Baton Rouge, La.
TEAM SCORES (36-hole totals): 1. LSU 577 (297-280); 2. Tulane 590 (302-288); 3. Mississippi State 591 (306-285); 4. TCU 598 (300-298); 5. NOTRE DAME 604 (312-292) ; 6. (tie) Colorado 607 (316-291) and North Carolina 607 (313-294); 8. Denver 611 (303-308); 9. Wake Forest 614 (317-297); 10. UCF 618 (307-311); 11. Kentucky 622 (316-306); 12. (tie) North Carolina State 623 (314-309) and Oklahoma 623 (315-308); 14. Missouri 629 (321-308); 15. UNC Wilmington 634 (325-309); 16. Texas-San Antonio 645 (324-321).
TOP EIGHT INDIVIDUALS PLUS NOTRE DAME GOLFERS (of 89): 1. Madelene Sagstrom (LSU) 140 (73-67); 2. Elise Bradley (LSU) 142 (74-68); 3. Leslie Cloots (UNC) 143 (72-71); 4. (tie) Chieh Jessica Peng (MSU) 144 (73-71), Gemma Dryburgh (TU) 144 (75-69) and Emily Penttila (TU) 144 (74-70); 7. (tie) Rica Tse (MSU) 145 (76-69) and Kelly McGovern (TCU) 145 (72-73); 15. (tie) Ashley Armstrong (ND) 149 (80-69); 18. (tie) Talia Campbell (ND) 151 (77-74) and Kelli Oride (ND) 151 (77-74); 44. (tie) Jordan Ferreira (ND) 156 (81-75); 72. (tie) Kari Bellville (ND) 161 (78-83).
— Chris Masters, Associate Athletic Media Relations Director