Notre Dame will have to overcome a formidable schedule this year to match the success of 2015, when the Irish won two tournaments and managed the second-best single-season stroke average in program history.
“Our schedule this year is just really, really strong," Irish head coach Susan Holt said. “We’re gonna have to be ready to compete every time we tee it up.”
Holt said there is potential for the team to improve on last year's performance despite the upcoming slate.
“We’ve got individual players that have individual strengths and weaknesses,” Holt said. “But we’ve looked at the stats from last year and we’re trying to key in on some of the areas that they definitely need to improve upon.”
The team is also looking to focus on strong transitions from practice to actual tournament play.
“It’s one thing in the practices,” Holt said. “When you show up for the tournaments, you’re prepared and you’ve gotta execute. I think that’s one of the biggest things.”
The loss of graduated Talia Campbell will certainly leave a hole for the team to fill, Holt said, but Holt believes this year’s team has the ability to recover.
“Talia Campbell was our only senior last year,” Holt said. “She was, stroke average-wise, our best player, but we’ve got a lot of depth on our team and obviously we’re gonna need some people to step up somewhat to fill that void but I certainly feel like we have the depth. We just try to plug people in.”
Holt praised depth as a strength that differentiate the 2016 squad from Notre Dame's teams in recent seasons.
“We have eight players on the team and we need five players who are capable when we leave town and everyday we need four scores at every tournament that are solid,” Holt said. “I feel like we have the depth and I think that’s a huge advantage for us to have. We’re not really leaning on any one player and we really haven’t done that in the last few years. It’s definitely been a team effort and I think that’s a good thing.”
With the addition of freshman Mia Ayer, Holt believes this team will be up to Irish standards.
“We always say the faces change but the goals and the standards of our program really haven’t,” Holt said. “We’re always chasing the same things which are an ACC championship and to qualify for regionals and nationals. Those are pretty top things that we’re always trying to achieve every year.”
The Irish’s first competition will be the University of Oklahoma Schooner Fall Classic at Belmar Golf Club on September 24.
