Sept. 20, 2011
Wolcott, Colo. – The Notre Dame women’s golf team battled gusty winds and a tough course on Tuesday afternoon on the way to a 23-over par mark of 311 during the second round of the Golfweek Conference Challenge. That mark coupled with Monday’s opening round of 302 gives the Irish a 36-hole total of 613 on the par-72, 6,236-yard Tom Fazio course at the Red Sky Golf Club near Vail, Colo.
Notre Dame will enter Wednesday morning’s final 18 holes, trailing first-place Oregon by 12 strokes as the Ducks moved into first place with the low round of the day, a 16-over mark of 34. That coupled with an opening-round 297 gives Oregon the 36-hole mark of 601. Mississippi is tied for second with Denver and Pepperdine as all three are just five strokes behind with a 605 total. Opening-round leader UC-Davis ballooned to a 313 total in the second round, giving them a two-day mark of 607, just six strokes out of the lead.
Tuesday’s round featured winds gusting to 20 miles-per-hour and temperatures in the upper 50’s on a course that featured some tough pin placements that caused everyone to have their struggles on the scenic course in the Rocky Mountains.
Individually, just four golfers shot par or better with Tulsa’s Kristina Merkle having the top round of the day with a two-under 70. First-round co-leaders Natalie Gleadall of Mississippi and Grace Na of Pepperdine each fired a two-over par 74 on the second day and remain tied for the lead with one-over par totals of 143. Chirapat Jao-Javanil of Oklahoma is third with a one-over par 145. She is followed by Charlotte Lorentzan of Georgia State and Cheyenne Hickle of Oregon who check in with three-over par marks of 147. Four golfers are tied for sixth with four-over par totals of 148.
For the Irish, freshman Ashley Armstrong (Flossmoor, Ill.) continued her strong play in her first collegiate tournament as she had a five-over par mark of 77 to equal senior Katie Allare (Phoenix, Ariz.) and her five-over score of 77. Armstrong is Notre Dame’s top golfer after 36 holes after rounds of 73-77 for a six-over 150. That puts her in a tie for 14th place, seven strokes behind the leaders. Allare equaled her first day score of 77, giving her a two-day total of 10-over par 154 and a tie for 33rd.
Joining Armstrong and Allare in the scoring column on Tuesday were freshman Kelli Oride (Lihue, Hawaii) and sophomore Kristina Nhim (Cypress, Calif.). Oride fired a six-over par 78 in her second round of play to go with an opening 79 for a 157 total and is tied for 46th. Nhim, who opened with a two-over par 74, checked in with a 79 for a two-round total of 153, putting her second among Irish golfers and ties her for 26th, going into Wednesday’s round.
Senior Becca Huffer (Denver, Colo.) was nine-over par for the day with an 81 and has a two-day mark of 159.
The final round of play is set to begin at 9:00 a.m. (MT) on Wednesday morning with a shotgun start. The weather calls for mostly sunny with temperatures only reaching 55 and winds up to 14 miles-per-hour.
TEAM RESULTS (36-hole totals): 1. Oregon 297-304-601; t2. Mississippi 300-306-606; Denver 299-307-606; Pepperdine 300-306-606; 5.UC-Davis 294-313-607; 6. Oklahoma 301-307-608; t7. Coastal Carolina 297-313-610; Tulsa 305-305-610; 9. Notre Dame 302-311-613; t10.TCU 307-311-618; Texas-San Antonio 304-314-618; 12. Kennesaw State 304-317-621; t13. Georgia State 304-319-623; New Mexico State 312-311-623; 15. Minnesota 302-324-626; 16. Chattanooga 305-325-630; 17. Pennsylvania 313-325-638; 18. Western Michigan 320-332-652.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 90): t1. Natalie Gleadall (Mississippi) 69-74-143; Grace Na (Pepperdine) 69-74-143; 3.Chirapat Jao-Javanil (Oklahoma) 70-74-145; t4.; Cheyenne Hickle 72-75-147; Charlotte Lorentzen (Georgia State) 71-76-147; ; t6. Jessica Alexander (Coastal Carolina) 72-76-148; Fabiola Arriaga (Texas San Antonio) 74-74-148; Cassy Isagawa (Oregon) 77-71-148; Rachel Walton (Denver) 76-72-148; 10. Marion Duvernay (Chattanooga) 72-77-149.
NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (of 90): t14. Ashley Armstrong 73-77-150; t26. Kristina Nihm 74-79-153; t33. Katie Allare 77-77-154; t46. Kelli Oride 79-78-157. t56. Becca Huffer 78-81-159.