The Irish find themselves in second place after a strong first round at the Big East Championship at the Jovita Golf Club in Dade City, Fla.
Sunday, the Irish fired a team score of 7-over to wrap up the first round of three at the championship. Irish coach Susan Holt said she was hopeful that her team can build off of the first round performance.
"[The team's] game is where it needs to be," Holt said. "We started out even on the front nine but just lost some shots on the back nine."
Leading the way for the Irish after day one was sophomore So-Hyun Park. Park recorded a hole-in-one on the 145-yard, par-3 fourth hole. On the back nine, Park traded three birdies with three bogeys to finish the day at 2-under tied for third.
"So-Hyun played solid today," Holt said. "I'm happy with her performance."
Senior captain Lisa Maunu tallied a 2-over to finish in a tie for seventh. Freshmen Becca Huffer, junior Kristin Wetzel and junior Annie Brophy rounded out the Irish scores tallying rounds of 3-over, 4-over, and 5-over, respectively.
"I'm happy to see the work we've put in this week paying off," Holt said. "But I am a little disappointed we didn't finish stronger down the stretch."
Last season, the Irish beat Louisville to win their third Big East Championship. At the end of round one, the Irish trail Louisville by 16 strokes. Holt knows that if her team is to mount a comeback, it won't be because Louisville will stumble and come back to them.
"We've got to do what we can to get out of the hole we're in," Holt said. "Louisville is playing well and they wont come back to us."
Holt doesn't remember how the Irish finished after their first round of last year's championship run, but she is confident that the Irish can catch Louisville if they can play well the next two days.
"I don't remember how we stacked up last year," Holt said. "But I know that [catching Lousiville] can be done."
