Coming off a second-place finish in the Big East tournament and a trip to the NCAA Regional qualifiers last season, No. 47 Notre Dame has improved its lineup and is expecting to perform well this year.
The Irish lineup will add two top-10 nationally ranked recruits in third-ranked Lindsey Weaver and ninth-ranked Talia Campbell, joined in the recruiting class by Katherine Guo.
"Notre Dame is the only school in Division I to get two top-10 recruits," Irish coach Susan Holt said. "We are extremely proud of that."
Weaver, Campbell and Guo will join Big East champion and Rookie of the Year sophomore Ashley Armstrong, sophomore Kelli Oride and junior Kristina Nhim.
"The new recruits are young, but they are experienced players," Holt said. "They will add instant depth to the team."
Over the summer, the Irish kept busy by competing in numerous tournaments.
Armstrong and recent Notre Dame graduate Becca Huffer competed with Weaver in the 2012 U.S. Women's Open in Wisconsin. Of the amateurs competing in the Open, Weaver and Armstrong finished 17th and 18th, respectively.
Nhim and Armstrong played as a duo in the Pure Silk Team Collegiate Classic, where the pair took eighth overall.
Katherine Guo and Kelli Oride both qualified for the Women's Amateur Public Links, while Talia Campbell played in the Texas Women's Amateur.
"They will be ready to play when they come back to campus," Holt said. "Hopefully, we will hit a stride early and keep momentum going through the season. We have a competitive schedule ahead of us and we will never have a false sense of security."
In this group, Holt said the Irish has its strongest core group of players.
"If you take our six starters, it is the best team we have had in program history," Holt said.
Holt has high hopes for this young Irish team.
"As it is every year, one of our main goals is to win the Big East," Holt said. "We have only qualified for nationals once, in 2011. This year, we want to win regionals and qualify for nationals again."
As for the chances of winning the NCAA championship, Holt said she has complete confidence in her young team.
"We will try and position ourselves in a place to compete for the national championship," Holt said. "Do I think we can do that? Absolutely."
