Feb. 27, 2017

By Leigh Torbin

TUCSON, Ariz. – After claiming the Yestingsmeier Match Play championship two weeks ago outside of Tampa, the Notre Dame men’s golf team returns to a traditionally-scored event on Monday and Tuesday as they participate in the National Invitational Tournament in Tucson, Arizona.

The Irish will face off in the 54-hole event against a field which also includes host Arizona, plus Arizona State, BYU, Colorado State, Iowa State, Nevada, New Mexico State, Princeton, San Francisco, San Jose State, Santa Clara, UNLV, Utah, UTEP and Wyoming.

For the opening round, the Irish are paired in a foursome with Wyoming, Colorado State and Utah.

About the Course

The Omni Tucson National’s Catalina Course is the former host of the PGA TOUR’s Chrysler Classic. It is a par-72 which will play at 7,262 yards for the N.I.T.

Notre Dame Lineup

1. Blake Barens
2. Ben Albin
3. Miguel Delgado
4. John Felitto
5. Davis Lamb

Coach Kubinski Says

“We’re looking forward to returning to Tucson this weekend. We had several players who had not seen the course last season, so bringing a team back with some golf course experience and coming off a win at the Yestingsmeier match play has us feeling confident and excited to compete.

“Our lineup is led by senior Blake Barens, with sophomores Ben Albin and Miguel Delgado, all having played in Tucson last February, playing well. Ben had a very strong finish in that event, as a freshman. He can certainly offer some perspective to the two freshmen rounding out our lineup this week, John Felitto and Davis Lamb. Both are on a nice roll, playing well, having won 5 1/2 of 6 possible points at the match play.

“The golf course, Tucson National, has hosted many top events over the years, including the PGA TOUR. It has a handful of holes that get your attention where a player has to play to smart areas, but also several where you’re looking to give yourself a good look at birdie. It’s a good test, with a nice blend of holes.”

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Leigh Torbin, athletics communications associate director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2013 and coordinates all media efforts for Notre Dame’s women’s basketball and men’s golf teams. A native of Framingham, Massachusetts, Torbin graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in sports management. He has previously worked full-time on the athletic communications staffs at Vanderbilt, Florida, Connecticut and UCF.