After a hotly-contested three rounds at Michigan State's Mary Fossum Invitational, Notre Dame concluded the weekend with a third-place finish.
Just three years removed from a win in the same tournament, the Irish continued to excel in East Lansing this weekend.
Leading the effort was the team's junior captain Ashley Armstrong. With a second-place individual result, Armstrong shot a three-round average of 73.3 in her season debut. Not even Sunday's rain could deter her, as Armstrong wrapped up the weekend with one of just five rounds below par, shooting a 69.
Additionally, on a course that caused most golfers' scores to rise from round to round, Armstrong was the only top-five finisher to improve on her score each round.
"Ashley essentially hasn't played golf for the last two weeks because she's been recovering from a wrist injury. With that being said, I thought that she did great," Irish coach Susan Holt said. "Ashley more than showed up and did her part."
Not to be outdone, junior Kelli Oride also stood out by shooting a 223 over three rounds, just three strokes more than Armstrong's total. Finishing in seventh place, Oride got off to a hot start on the invitational's first day when she shot a 72 and a 74 in the first two rounds. On Sunday, Oride finished the weekend with a 77.
Following her own strong performance last weekend, senior Kristina Nhim finished in 34th place at 16 over par. After starting off with a 76, Nhim wrapped up her weekend with a pair of 78s on her final two rounds for a 232 total.
Just two strokes behind Nihm was sophomore Talia Campbell, who shot a 234 following a rough Sunday in the rain, when she finished 10 over par. On Saturday, Campbell jumped out to 22nd place with rounds of 75 and 77, but following an 82 yesterday, Campbell finished the weekend in 44th place.
Rounding out the group for the Irish, freshmen Jordan Ferreira and Janie Fineis managed to finish 53rd and 90th with scores of 238 and 262 respectively. Facing tough weather conditions, Fineis showed solid consistency, matching one of her first day scores, while Ferreira faltered slightly, adding 12 strokes to her three-day total.
"Today was just a blip on the radar, and we'll just look to move past it," Holt said about the freshmen's performance.
Moving forward, the Notre Dame will head to Knoxville, Tenn. for next weekend's Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship at the Cherokee Country Club.
Contact Cole Schietinger at cschieti@nd.edu
