March 11, 2012
Baton Rouge, La. –
The Notre Dame women’s golf team finished their weekend in Louisiana with a final round of 306 to move up two spots and finished 10th in the 14-team field at the LSU Tiger Classic. The tournament was played at the par-72, 6,350-yard University Club of Baton Rouge, the home of the LSU men and women’s golf teams.
The Irish finished 54 strokes behind tournament winner – the University of Tennessee – as the Volunteers edged out the tourney hosts, LSU, by two strokes with a 54-hole total of 16-over par 880. The Tigers were two shots off the pace with an 882. Finishing seven strokes behind in third was North Carolina as the Tar Heels checked in with an 889 total. Fourth place belonged to Vanderbilt with a 908 and North Carolina rounded out the top five as the Wolfpack jumped from 10th to fifth with a 293 on day three for a 919 mark.
Leading Notre Dame on the afternoon was freshman Ashley Armstrong (Flossmoor, Ill.) who shot her second consecutive two-over par 74 for a three-day total of nine-over 225 to tie for 14th overall. The 225 equaled the best 54-hole total for Armstrong’s young career and the tie for 14th marked the second consecutive week that she has finished in the top 15 of a tournament. She was 11 strokes behind co-winners Catherine O’Donnell of North Carolina and Erica Popson of Tennessee.
Finishing second for the Irish was senior Becca Huffer (Denver, Colo.) who shot a four-over par 76 on Sunday to follow rounds of 76 and 77 for a 13-over par mark of 229.
Sophomore Kristina Nhim (Cypress, Fla.) tied for 40th overall after shooting a 77 in her final round. That gave her a 54-hole mark of 233 (81-75-77).
Freshman Kelli Oride (Lihue, Hawaii) tied for 72nd overall with a 250 total after rounds of 84-84-82 and senior Katie Allare (Phoenix, Ariz.) was 77th with a 254 (90-85-79) on the weekend.
The tournament has just three golfers finish under par or better as O’Donnell and Popson share the title with two-under par 214 totals. Due to travel constraints, a playoff was not conducted. LSU’s Madelene Sagstron was third with a 54-hole mark of even par 216. Rounding out the top five individuals was LSU’s Austin Ernst who finished four strokes behind the leaders with a two-over par 218 while Augusta James of North Carolina and Marina Alex of Vanderbilt tied for fifth with four-over par totals of 220.
Notre Dame now travels from Baton Rouge to Mesa, Ariz., where the Irish will play host to the 2012 Clover Cup Tournament at the par-72, 6,209-yard Longbow Golf Club. The 13-team field will play three 18-hole rounds from March 16-18.
TEAM RESULTS (54-hole totals): 1. Tennessee 298-289-293-880; 2. LSU 295-292-295-882; 3. North Carolina 301-300-288-889; 4. Vanderbilt 302-299-307-908; 5. North Carolina State 308-318-293-919; 6. Virginia 304-304-317-925; 7. Kentucky 311-303-312-926; 8. Purdue 311-312-304-927; 9. Louisville 314-308-308-930; 10. Notre Dame 318-310-306-934; 11. UNC-Wilmington 315-311-309-935; 12. TCU 306-314-317-937; 13. College of Charleston 322-307-313-942; 14. Louisiana Monroe 317-313-318-948.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 78): t1. Catherine O’Donnell (North Carolina) 72-71-71-214; Erica Popson (Tennessee) 75-70-69-214; 3. Madelene Sagstrom (LSU) 71-71-74-216; 4. Austin Ernst (LSU) 73-73-72-218; t5. Augusta James (North Carolina) 73-77-70-220; Marina Alex (Vanderbilt) 70-75-75-220; t7. Nathalie Mansson (Vanderbilt) 76-73-73-222; Laura Gonzalez (Purdue) 74-75-73-22; 9. Irina Gabasa (Vanderbilt) 77-74-72-223; t10. A.J. Newell (Tennessee) 76-73-75-224; Katherine Perry (North Carolina) 76-77-71-224.
NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (of 78): t14. Ashley Armstrong 77-74-74-225; t23. Becca Huffer; 76-77-76-229; t40. Kristina Nhim, 81-75-77-233; 74; t72. Kelli Oride, 84-84-82-250; 77. Katie Allare, 90-85-79-254.