Sept. 19, 2015
NORMAN, Okla. — Entering this weekend’s Schooner Fall Classic, the University of Notre Dame women’s golf team knew it would have numerous chances to post low scores against a challenging tournament field. As Saturday’s opening round came to a close, the Fighting Irish players and coaches knew that although opportunity knocked several times, they weren’t always there to answer the call.
Notre Dame carded a first-round 286 (+2) and is in fourth place after Saturday’s initial 18 holes of the 12-team Schooner Fall Classic, which is being played at the Belmar Golf Club (par 71/5,901 yards) in Norman, Oklahoma. The Fighting Irish are 10 shots behind overnight leader Oklahoma State (ranked ninth in the preseason Golfweek poll), but just three strokes back of runner-up Mississippi State.
Notre Dame’s score of 286 on Saturday was the seventh-lowest gross score in program history and lowest since the Fighting Irish closed with rounds of 277 and 279 (the best in school annals) at last year’s Schooner Fall Classic, when it was played on a par-70 layout.
“Overall, it was a good day for us,” Notre Dame head coach Susan Holt said. “You can’t win the tournament on day one, but you can lose it. We are within striking distance with two rounds, but we need to make more birdies. We left a lot of scoring opportunities out there today. I’m looking forward to posting the low rounds that are still out there for us.”
Junior Jordan Ferreira (University Place, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) and freshman Emma Albrecht (Ormond Beach, Fla./Father Lopez) are Notre Dame’s top individuals through one round, with both players tied for 12th place in the 66-person field after shooting even-par 71 on Saturday. Kansas’ Yupaporn Kawinpakom blistered the course with an opening-round 63 to take a two-shot lead on the individual ladder.
Senior captain Talia Campbell (Dallas, Texas/Ursuline Academy) and freshman Isabella DiLisio (Hatfield, Pa./Mount Saint Joseph Academy) also are in the top 20 after Saturday’s action. The Fighting Irish duo is tied for 20th place at one-over par 72 — it’s the third consecutive round of 72 for Campbell, while DiLisio posted the lowest round of her young college career.
Sophomore Kari Bellville (Granger, Ind./Penn) is competing as an individual this weekend and opened with a three-over par 74. Freshman Maddie Rose Hamilton (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy) rounds out the Notre Dame starting lineup, currently tied for 43rd place at six-over par 77.
The Fighting Irish will return to the links for round two of the Schooner Fall Classic at 9 a.m. CT (10 a.m. ET) Sunday, with live scoring provided through the BirdieFire web site (birdiefire.com).
For more information on the Notre Dame women’s golf program, visit the women’s golf page on the official Fighting Irish athletics web site (UND.com/ndwomensgolf), sign up to follow the Notre Dame women’s golf Twitter feed (@NDwomensGolf) or register for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system through the “Fan Center” pulldown menu on the front page at UND.com.
Schooner Fall Classic
Sept. 19-21, 2015
Belmar Golf Club (par 71/5,901 yards)
Norman, Oklahoma
TEAM SCORES (18-hole totals): 1. Oklahoma State 276; 2. Mississippi State 283; 3. Kansas 285; 4. NOTRE DAME 286; 5. Texas A&M 287; 6. Oklahoma 291; 7. Kansas State 294; 8. UTSA 295; 9. Texas State 297; 10. Florida State 300; 11. Troy 305; 12. Tulsa 311.
TOP NINE INDIVIDUALS PLUS NOTRE DAME GOLFERS (of 66): 1. Yupaporn Kawinpakom (KU) 63; 2. Chih-Min Chen (OSU) 65; 3. Ji Eun Baik (MSU) 66; 4. (tie) Andrea Jonama (TAMU) and Rylee Pedigo (OU) 67; 6. Kenzie Neisen (OSU) 68; 7. (tie) Chieh Jessica Peng (MSU), Ariadna Fonseca (KU) and Nikki Long (UTSA) 69; 12. (tie) Jordan Ferreira (ND) and Emma Albrecht (ND) 71; 20. (tie) Isabella DiLisio (ND) and Talia Campbell (ND) 72; 29. (tie) Kari Bellville (ND)* 74; 43. (tie) Maddie Rose Hamilton (ND) 77.
* – competing as individual participant
— Chris Masters, Athletics Communications Associate Director