As Notre Dame prepares for its first ACC Championship, it needs all the experience it can get, and the Irish squad is getting it from an unexpected place — a freshman.
Jordan Ferreira flashed potential during her first-ever college tournament, placing eighth at the Indiana University Fall Kickoff in September. However, her mind has been on Division I college golf since her freshman year of high school,.
“I didn’t get serious until my freshman year, but by the end of it, I thought I had a good chance of playing in college,” Ferreira said.
After visits to Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Northwestern, Virginia, North Carolina and the University of California-Berkeley, Ferreira said she did not have to think twice about her college choice.
“Notre Dame was definitely the dream school,” Ferreira said. “I came on my visit and immediately loved it here. The community is great, and they have a strong academic institution. And I really liked the team and the coaches.”
Even after being ranked as the 24th recruit in her class by Junior Golf Scoreboard and being named a two-time Washington State Golf Association Girls Player of the Year, it would not have been surprising for Ferreira to take time in her transition to the college game. This was not the case, however, as right from her first college round, she showed that she could compete with the best.
“I’ve really liked the transition from high school golf to college golf,” Ferreira said. “The ACC especially has really good competition, and the courses are tougher. With the players a lot better too, I think the challenge is really fun.”
With her success, which also includes two rounds of 71 and another top-20 finish, Ferreira has experienced the typical challenges that every college kid faces ¾ with added commitments.
“The biggest adjustment overall has been time management,” Ferreira said. “It’s a lot to balance with golf, traveling and school.”
Ferreira said she has found that the tight-knit team aspect has helped her in her freshman year, especially the leadership of the upperclassmen.
“The team is great ¾ we are all very supportive of one another,” Ferreira said. “We are all fierce competitors but want everyone to do very well. And it’s good to have someone in my class [Janie Fineis], so I’m not the only freshman.”
Team chemistry is so strong that Ferreira said her favorite moment from the season had nothing do with her own play — it was when junior Ashley Armstrong fired a final-round 69 to place second at the Mary Fossum Invitational at Michigan State in September, and the whole team rallied behind her.
Although quick to shift the focus to her teammates, Ferreira has had a stellar rookie campaign. Her 74.95 stroke average is already the best career average on the team. Furthermore, Ferreira has improved her score every day over the course of a tournament in all but two of her nine starts.
“You get to know a course better, and each day it gets a little easier,” Ferreira said. “You also want to learn from your mistakes and work on them the next day.”
Just a freshman, Jordan Ferreira is playing like a veteran at just the right time for the Irish as they head into the ACC Championships.
