Feb. 24, 2017
By Dan Colleran
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The Notre Dame women’s golf team returns to the course on Sunday, February 26 to tee it up at Wisconsin’s 2017 Westbrook Spring Invitational.
The two-day tournament will be played at the Westbrook Village Golf Club (Vistas Course) in Peoria, Arizona.
The Fighting Irish will be returning to the event for the third consecutive season, having also participated in 2015 and 2016 versions of the Westbrook Spring Invitational. Last season, Notre Dame carded a three-round total of one-over par 865 (286-290-289), which marked the fifth-lowest 54-hole score in school history at that time.
“We continue to go back to this event because it’s a golf course that is fun to play and is set up to shoot low scores,” head coach Susan Holt said. “We’ve had success in the past and just have a good vibe for the place. We are looking forward to posting some low scores.”
Current sophomore Isabella DiLisio had one of her four career top-10 finishes at the event last season when she shot a two-under par 214 to tie for ninth. She shot an opening round, three-under par 69 en route to the ninth-place finish.
The Details
Date: Feb. 26-27, 2017
Format: 36 holes of play on Sunday (threesomes, shotgun start), 18 holes of play on Monday (pairings, shotgun start)
Tee Times: 8:30 a.m. (MT) starts each day
Location: Peoria, Arizona
The Course: Westbrook Village Golf Club — Vistas Course (Par 72/6,269 yards)
Tournament Field: Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Nebraska, New Mexico State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon State, UC Davis, Washington State
Live Scoring: Birdiefire.com
Projected Notre Dame Lineup
Sophomores Emma Albrecht and Isabella DiLisio will start in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions, respectively, followed by senior Jordan Ferreira at No. 3, freshman Mia Ayer at No. 4 and junior Alison Snakard at No. 5. Junior Kari Bellville will compete as an individual.
In addition to DiLisio, Albrecht, Ferreira (as an individual) and Bellville also played in last season’s event.
Coach Holt Quotes
On expectations …
“We need more consistent play throughout our lineup. We have very capable players that just need to execute. It comes down to being confident, committed and focused on every single shot. [We] have to find a way to score and just keep competing. It’s a great opportunity for us to get the spring season turned around and headed in the right direction.”
On practicing outside this past week on campus …
“The record breaking temps the past week have been a real benefit to us being able to get outside to practice and play this time of year. These have been much needed bonus days for us that we now need to take advantage of this weekend.”
Up Next
After playing in the University of Wisconsin’s Westbrook Spring Invitational, the Fighting Irish will play host to the 2017 Clover Cup on March 17-19 at the Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Arizona.
NCAA Note
This season, the Irish will be looking to extend their streak of nine consecutive NCAA Regional appearances (2008-16). The program has made 11 all-time appearances in the NCAA Regionals and also advanced to the NCAA Championship in 2011.
Last Time Out
Albrecht led Notre Dame at the the 2017 Florida State Match-Up by tying for 22nd (74-72-73-219) in the 66-player field.
2016 Fall Season Recap
Led by a top-10 finish from Albrecht, the Irish opened the 2016-17 season by tying for sixth at the University of Oklahoma’s Schooner Fall Classic (Sept. 24-25), which was played at the Belmar Golf Club (par 71/5,939 yards). Albrecht finished tied for tenth (69-73-69-211) to lead the Notre Dame lineup, marking her third career top-10 finish.
In another fall season highlight, Notre Dame shot a 280 (-8) in the third round of the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational on Oct. 16, which marked the third-lowest team round in program history. In addition to the third round of the Betsy Rawls, the Irish also shot under par rounds during first round of the Jim West Challenge (-6) and in the first round of the Schooner Fall Classic (-1) during the first semester.
Ferreira led the Irish with a 73.58 stroke average in the fall, followed by Albrecht (74.25). Ferreira shot a team-low 68 in the third round of the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational for the lowest round of the semester, followed by Albrecht’s three-under par 69 in the first round of the Jim West Challenge.
— 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).