Feb. 22, 2015
PEORIA, Ariz. — It took a few holes for the University of Notre Dame women’s golf team to thaw out from its four-month winter hiatus, but it didn’t take long for the Fighting Irish to heat up and find themselves right back where they were at the end of the fall season — squarely in contention for a tournament title.
Playing in its first spring tournament, No. 32 Notre Dame showed poise and consistency on Sunday, moving into a tie for fourth place at four-over par 580 (291-289) through two rounds at the Westbrook Spring Invitational on the Vistas Course (par 72/6,269 yards) at the Westbrook Village Golf Club in Peoria, Arizona.
The Fighting Irish shared fourth place with Oklahoma and Oregon State, 12 strokes behind overnight leader (and 14th-ranked) Tennessee. No. 35 Oregon stands second at three-under par 573, while Illinois is one shot in front of Notre Dame at 579 (+3) in the 15-team field. The Fighting Irish currently are two strokes ahead of No. 40 Ohio State (582) and 15 strokes clear of tournament host Wisconsin (595) heading into Monday’s final round.
“Overall, I’m very pleased with our performance today,” Notre Dame head coach Susan Holt said. “Our ball striking across the board was pretty solid. We just need to capitalize on our good shots and convert some more of them into birdies.”
Senior captain Ashley Armstrong (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) picked up where she left off back in October, firing a one-under par 143 (71-72) to tie for ninth place among the 84 players in the tournament. Armstrong, who ended the fall with an eighth-place tie at the Landfall Tradition, was the picture of consistency in Sunday’s spring opener, collecting five birdies and 27 pars among her 36-hole day.
Oklahoma’s Hannah Wood and Oregon’s Cathleen Santoso share the individual lead through two rounds at four-under par 140, three shots ahead of Armstrong.
Fellow senior Kelli Oride (Lihue, Hawaii/Kauai) also looked sharp on Sunday, carding a one-over par 145 (73-72) that puts her in a tie for 17th place. Both of Oride’s rounds started the same way, with bogeys on the third and seventh holds (her second and sixth holes for each round). She then rebounded well with a pair of birdies to get back to even-par, and only a bogey on the 16th hole (her 15th) in the first round kept the Fighting Irish veteran from finishing the day on level ground.
Sophomore Jordan Ferreira (University Place, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) and junior Talia Campbell (Dallas, Texas/Ursuline Academy) are among a group of six players tied for 24th place at two-over par 146. Ferreira posted rounds of 74 and 72, showing remarkable consistency in the second round with 16 pars, including her final 11 holes. Meanwhile, Campbell registered matching scores of 73 on Sunday, shrugging off some struggles between the end of the first round and early second round, playing her final 13 holes in two-under par, highlighted by a closing birdie.
Freshman Kari Bellville (Granger, Ind./Penn) finds herself in a 45th-place tie at five-over par 149 (75-74), but showed good promise in the afternoon with only a double-bogey on No. 8 (her fifth hole) preventing an even-par score in the second round.
The Fighting Irish will be back on the course for the final round of the Westbrook Spring Invitational at 10:30 a.m. ET/8:30 a.m. MT Monday. Live in-progress scoring will be available through the Golfstat web site (www.golfstat.com).
“We’ve put ourselves in a position to contend for the title on Monday, which is something we’re certainly pleased with, given how early it is in the spring season,” Holt said. “If we can continue to follow the game plan and remain focused, we’ll be right there down the stretch.”
For more information on the Notre Dame women’s golf program, sign up to follow the Fighting Irish women’s golf Twitter pages (@NDsidMasters or @NDwomensGolf) or register for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system through the “Fan Center” pulldown menu on the front page at UND.com.
Westbrook Spring Invitational
Feb. 22, 2015 — Through Two Rounds
Westbrook Village Golf Club – Vistas Course (par 72/6,269 yards)
Peoria, Ariz.
TEAM SCORES (36-hole totals): 1. Tennessee 568 (279-289); 2. Oregon 573 (286-287); 3. Illinois 579 (291-288); 4. (tie) NOTRE DAME 580 (291-289), Oklahoma 580 (292-288) and Oregon State 580 (290-290); 7. Ohio State 582 (289-293); 8. College of Charleston 583 (286-297); 9. Iowa 590 (298-292); 10. Wisconsin 595 (299-296); 11. (tie) Indiana 596 (296-300), Nebraska 596 (294-302), Kansas State 596 (293-303) and Tulsa 596 (300-296); 15. Washington State 603 (307-296).
TOP EIGHT INDIVIDUALS PLUS NOTRE DAME GOLFERS (of 84): 1. Hannah Wood (OU) 140 (72-68) and Cathleen Santoso (UO) 140 (71-69); 3. (tie) Lucia Polo (UT) 141 (71-70), A.J. Newell (UT) 141 (68-73), Anna Newell (UT) 141 (69-72), Jordan Chael (NU) 141 (69-72) and Anica Yoo (OREST) 141 (73-68); 8. Laura Fuenfstueck (CofC) 142 (70-72); 9. (tie) Ashley Armstrong (ND) 143 (71-72); 17. (tie) Kelli Oride (ND) 145 (73-72); 24. (tie) Jordan Ferreira (ND) 146 (74-72) and Talia Campbell (ND) 146 (73-73); 45. (tie) Kari Bellville (ND) 149 (75-74).
— Chris Masters, Associate Athletic Media Relations Director