Oct. 24, 2015
by Chris Masters
WILMINGTON, N.C. — They may be freshmen on paper, but the trio of University of Notre Dame women’s golf rookies is playing like a crew of cagey veterans.
Led by their youth movement, the Fighting Irish moved up into a tie for third place through two rounds at the Landfall Tradition, posting a score of nine-over par 585 (291-294) in blustery conditions on Saturday afternoon at the Country Club of Landfall’s Pete Dye Course (par 72/6,157 yards) in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Notre Dame is tied with eighth-ranked Alabama in third place, four shots behind second-place (and 12th-rated) Oklahoma State in a loaded 18-team tournament field that features 12 squads ranked in the Golfstat Top 50, including five in the top 20. No. 2 Duke leads the team race at 571 (-5), 10 shots ahead of OSU.
“I was really pleased with the rounds we posted,” Fighting Irish head coach Susan Holt said. “Conditions were tough, the wind picked up and the pins were very challenging, but I think we managed it all very well. The freshmen saw the windy course conditions for the first time (Saturday) and I was impressed with how they responded. It can still be better and that’s the goal for (Sunday).”
Freshman Isabella DiLisio (Hatfield, Pa./Mount Saint Joseph Academy) continued her impressive play at this weekend’s tournament, opening up a four-shot lead in the individual standings at seven-under par 137 (67-70). DiLisio bounced back from a double bogey on No. 2 with three birdies in a four-hole stretch on the front side, then caught fire on the back nine with three more birdies, including back-to-back red numbers on Nos. 15-16.
Senior captain Talia Campbell (Dallas, Texas/Ursuline Academy) is tied for 23rd place at four-over par 148 (72-76). Like DiLisio, Campbell suffered a double bogey on No. 2 before coming back with a birdie two holes later. She then played relatively level the remainder of the round, sprinkled with three missed par putts through the closing 14 holes.
Freshman Emma Albrecht (Ormond Beach, Fla./Father Lopez) showed steady form on Saturday, moving into a tie for 29th place at five-over par 149 (75-74). Albrecht traded two bogeys for two birdies in the first six holes then took two more bogeys on Nos. 7 and 10. However, as she did on Friday, the Notre Dame rookie found her rhythm on the back nine, coming home with eight consecutive pars.
Albrecht’s classmate, freshman Maddie Rose Hamilton (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy) was one of the big individual movers on Saturday, jumping 15 spots into a tie for 38th place at seven-over par 151 (77-74). Hamilton picked up four birdies on the day and made the turn at even-par before giving two shots back on her closing nine.
Junior Jordan Ferreira (University Place, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) traditionally has had success at the Landfall Tradition, posting a 74.50 stroke average in her first two visits to the tournament, but she has yet to find her footing this weekend. Ferreira currently is tied for 71st place at 13-over par 157 (78-79), although she was on pace for a three-over par round on Saturday before a triple bogey on No. 16 and a bogey on No. 17 inflated her score.
Sophomore Kari Bellville (Granger, Ind./Penn) is representing the Fighting Irish as an individual participant at Landfall and is tied for 84th place at 17-over par 161 (77-84).
Notre Dame will close out the fall portion of its 2015-16 schedule with the final round of the Landfall Tradition at 8:45 a.m. (ET) Sunday. Live scoring will be available through the Golfstat web site (golfstat.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.
Landfall Tradition
Oct. 23-25, 2015
Country Club of Landfall — Pete Dye Course (par 72/6,157 yards)
Wilmington, North Carolina
TEAM SCORES (36-hole totals): 1. Duke 571 (287-284); 2. Oklahoma State 581 (289-292); 3. (tie) NOTRE DAME 585 (291-294) and Alabama 585 (299-286); 5. UNC Wilmington 587 (290-297); 6. Purdue 596 (296-300); 7. Michigan State 597 (291-306); 8. Wake Forest 598 (303-295); 9. (tie) Virginia 604 (301-303) and Clemson 604 (298-306); 11. South Carolina 605 (301-304); 12. (tie) North Carolina State 606 (295-311) and Ohio State 606 (303-303); 14. Penn State 607 (305-302); 15. North Carolina 611 (308-303); 16. UCF 615 (308-307); 17. Elon 619 (303-316); 18. Kentucky 630 (307-323).
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS PLUS NOTRE DAME GOLFERS (of 96): 1. Isabella DiLisio (ND) 137 (67-70); 2. (tie) Ashley Holder (UCF) 141 (72-69) and Maddie McCrary (OKST) 141 (70-71); 4. (tie) Lakareber Abe (UA) 143 (74-69), Leona Maguire (DU) 143 (71-72) and Annette Lyche (UNCW) 143 (69-74); 7. (tie) Celine Boutier (DU) 144 (75-69), Virginia Elena Carta (DU) 144 (73-71), Katelyn Dambaugh (USC) 144 (72-72) and Sandy Choi (DU) 144 (68-76); 23. (tie) Talia Campbell (ND) 148 (72-76); 29. (tie) Emma Albrecht (ND) 149 (75-74); 38. (tie) Maddie Rose Hamilton (ND) 151 (77-74); 71. (tie) Jordan Ferreira (ND) 157 (78-79); 84. (tie) Kari Bellville (ND)* 161 (77-84).
* – competing as individual participant
— ND —
Chris Masters, associate athletics communications director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2001 and coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame women’s golf and women’s basketball programs. A native of San Francisco, California, Masters is a 1996 graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University, earned his master’s degree from Kansas State University in 1998, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).