Oct. 5, 2015
LINCOLN, Neb. – It took the University of Notre Dame women’s golf team the better part of Monday morning to get warmed up at Nebraska’s Chip-N Club Invitational. By nightfall, it was a day the Fighting Irish won’t soon forget.
Notre Dame set a school record for the lowest round relative to par en route to a 36-hole score of one-over par 577 (297-280) and a 16-stroke lead through two rounds of the 13-team Chip-N Club Invitational, which is being contested at the Country Club of Lincoln (par 72/6,105 yards) in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The Fighting Irish second-round score of 280 (-8) was one shot better than the previous school record of 281 (-7), set in the second round of the 2008 Heather Farr Memorial. Notre Dame has turned in two other gross scores lower than Monday’s 280, carding 277 and 279 in the final two rounds of the 2014 Schooner Fall Classic, which was played on a par-70 course.
“We got off to a slow start, which seems to be a trend that I hope we can improve on,” Notre Dame head coach Susan Holt said. “I’m very proud of our comeback on the second 18. This course is tight with lots of trees and we managed it much better in the second round, and it helped that we made some putts, too.”
All six Fighting Irish players (five in the starting lineup, plus one individual competitor) are among the top 15 golfers in the 75-person field at the Chip-N Club Invitational, led by freshman Isabella DiLisio (Hatfield, Pa./Mount Saint Joseph Academy), who is tied with South Dakota State’s Megan Mingo for the individual lead at two-under par 142 (76-66).
On the strength of seven birdies and just one bogey in her second round, DiLisio matched the school single-round record held by three other players, two of whom likewise shot six-under par for one round – Lisa Maunu in the first round of the 2007 Cougar Classic and So-Hyun Park in the second round at the 2008 Heather Farr Memorial. Current senior captain Talia Campbell (Dallas, Texas/Ursuline Academy) also posted a 66 in the second round of the 2014 Schooner Fall Classic on the aforementioned par-70 course.
Sophomore Kari Bellville (Granger, Ind./Penn) mirrored her rookie teammate with seven birdies in the second round on the way to a two-round total of even-par 144 (76-68) that has her in a three-way tie for fourth place. Bellville’s second-round 68 was a career-low single-round score, two shots better than her previous mark set last month at the Schooner Fall Classic.
Junior Jordan Ferreira (University Place, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) and freshman Maddie Rose Hamilton (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy) are among a group of five golfers tied for seventh place at one-over par 145 after both Fighting Irish players posted rounds of 73 and 72. Hamilton, who is competing as an individual this week, turned in the two lowest rounds of her young career.
Freshman Emma Albrecht (Ormond Beach, Fla./Father Lopez) is tied for 13th place through 36 holes at four-over par 148 (74-74), while Campbell rounds out of the Fighting Irish lineup in a 15th-place tie at five-over par 149 (74-75).
Notre Dame will return to the course for the final round of the Chip-N Club Invitational at 8:30 a.m. CT (9:30 a.m. ET) Tuesday, with live scoring available 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.
Chip-N Club Invitational
Oct. 5-6, 2015
Country Club of Lincoln (par 72/6,105 yards)
Lincoln, Nebraska
TEAM SCORES (36-hole totals): 1. NOTRE DAME 577 (297-280); 2. Nebraska 593 (301-292); 3. South Dakota State 594 (295-299); 4. Missouri State 600 (302-298); 5. Kansas 601 (299-302); 6. UMKC 609 (304-305); 7. South Dakota 616 (307-309); 8. North Dakota State 622 (312-310); 9. Illinois State 625 (314-311); 10. Creighton 631 (324-307); 11. Bellevue 633 (317-316); 12. Nebraska-Omaha 638 (323-315); 13. Nebraska-Kearney 676 (337-339).
TOP 11 INDIVIDUALS PLUS NOTRE DAME GOLFERS (of 75): 1. (tie) Isabella DiLisio (ND) 142 (76-66) and Megan Mingo (SDSU) 142 (73-69); 3. Brenna Lervick (USD) 143 (72-71); 4. (tie) Kari Bellville (ND) 144 (76-68), Yupaporn Kawinpakorn (KU) 144 (72-72) and Cynthia Diaz (UMKC) 144 (72-72); 7. (tie) Jordan Ferreira (ND) 145 (73-72), Maddie Rose Hamilton (ND)* 145 (73-72), Cassie Deeg (NU) 145 (73-72), Morgan Smejkal (NU) 145 (72-73) and Stine Pettersen (MSU) 145 (73-72); 13. (tie) Emma Albrecht (ND) 148 (74-74); 15. (tie) Talia Campbell (ND) 149 (74-75).
* – competing as individual participant
– Chris Masters, Athletics Communications Associate Director