Nov. 20, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Granger native Kari Bellville will not have to travel far to continue her collegiate playing career. One of the top nationally-ranked golfers in the country, Bellville has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Notre Dame and will begin her career with the Irish in the fall of 2014.
Among players in the class of ’14, Bellville is ranked 33rd in Golfweek and 54th on the National Junior Golf Scoreboard. She also was the 2012 North and South junior champion and was tabbed a four-year Future Collegiate World Tour All-American having won numerous events on that tour during her junior career.
Bellville will graduate in the spring from nearby Penn High School where she holds a 4.0 grade point average.
“We are extremely excited to have Kari join the Lady Irish golf family,” says head coach Susan Holt. “She is the first player from Indiana we have recruited since my tenure began in 2006. With her being from the neighboring community of Granger, Ind., it will be fun to have a local player on the team.”
During her career at Penn, Bellville played golf and soccer all four years, earning academic all-state honors in both sports. She was a four-time captain for golf and named captain as a senior on the soccer team. Bellville also had a top-10 finish at the golf state finals every year of her high school career.
“Kari will be a great addition to our team moving forward,” Holt adds. “She is a multi-sport athlete that will inject a great competitive spirit into the program. She also brings with her outstanding leadership qualities that will benefit the team as well.
“Kari has split her athletic abilities between soccer and golf for many years and I think now that she will be fully engaged in her golf game, the sky is the limit for her. It will be fun to watch her grow and develop as a student-athlete during her four years at Notre Dame.”
Earlier in 2013, Bellville finished first of 16 at the Future Collegiate World Tour at Harmony Golf Preserve with a score of 223 (72-78-73).
Among the other golf honors she earned, Bellville was recognized as the Burger King Athlete of the Week honor during her junior and senior season, garnered the Kiwanis Athlete of the Month and was the recipient of the ’13 FCWT “For the Good of the Game” award.
Bellville is the daughter of Mickey and Judy Bellville, and has an older brother, Ben.
–Lauren Chval, Media Relations Assistant
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