Irish Selected To NCAA Madison Regional

April 25, 2018

By Dan Colleran

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The Notre Dame women’s golf team was selected to the 2018 NCAA Regional field, it was announced on Golf Channel’s Golf Central on Wednesday evening. The Fighting Irish will be the No. 12 seed at the Madison Regional at the University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wisconsin on May 7-9.

It will mark Notre Dame’s 12th NCAA Regional appearance in program history and the first since 2016.

All told, 72 teams and 24 individuals were selected to compete at one of four NCAA regional sites, each featuring 18 teams and six individuals, May 7-9.

The three additional 2018 sites include TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, California, hosted by Stanford University; the University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas, hosted by the University of Texas and the Don Veller Seminole Golf Course & Club in Tallahassee, Florida, hosted by Florida State University.

From regional competition, 24 teams and 12 individuals will advance to the national championships to be played May 18-23 at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Notre Dame will be making its 12th appearance in NCAA regional play, including its 10th under current head coach Susan Holt. The Fighting Irish have advanced to the NCAA Championship once in their previous 12 regional appearances, placing 22nd at the NCAA finals in 2011 under Holt’s guidance.

Last season saw Notre Dame’s streak of consecutive regional appearances snapped at nine, but then-sophomore Emma Albrecht qualified as an individual. She went on to tie for 13th (75-75-74–224) at the 2017 NCAA Columbus Regional at Ohio State’s Scarlet Course (Par 72/6,416 Yards). Her 13th-place tie marked the second-best finish by a Notre Dame women’s golfer in NCAA Regional play.

This season the Irish once again played a challenging schedule and posted top-five finishes at the Minnesota Invitational and the Clover Cup, while also winning the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational for their first tournament win in two years. Albrecht earned co-medalist honors at the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational, which was a 16-team field.

Notre Dame also had a strong showing at the Schooner Fall Classic, finishing tied for sixth in the 15-team field. Maddie Rose Hamilton set the program record by shooting a second-round 65 (-6) at the event. The -6 also tied for the lowest round in program history in relation to par. Previously,So-Hyun Park (2008-09) andLisa Maunu (2007-08) also carded six-under par scores, both of which were 66’s on par 72 courses. Also at the at the Schooner Fall Classic, Notre Dame carded a final round 278 (-6), which marked the second-lowest score in program history, just one stroke off the record of 277 carded in the second round of the 2014 Schooner Classic.

— ND —

Dan Colleran, Director of Athletics Communications 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).