The Irish took on tough competition this weekend in East Lansing, Mich., at the Mary Fossum Invitational and clinched third place with a 23-over-par 887.
The tournament boasted three squads ranked in the top 50 according to Golfweek: No. 22 Michigan State, No. 27 Purdue and the No. 49 Irish.
Purdue bested the field and finished with a score of 875 with Michigan State finishing second at 882.
Although the competition was challenging, Irish coach Susan Holt said her squad did not see third place as a good thing.
"We were disappointed overall with our performance," Holt said. "I feel like we can compete with Michigan State and Purdue but we weren't able to get there. We did not do what we are capable of doing."
Notre Dame's newcomers made a solid first impression. Freshmen Lindsey Weaver and Talia Campbell each debuted with three-over 75s in the first round. Weaver continued this success, posting a 70 in the second round and led the Irish with a total score of four-over-par 220. Campbell anchored the team in the third and final round with a 71. Weaver finished tied for sixth, while Campbell finished tied for 12th with a 224.
"The freshmen did great for their first tournament," Holt said. "They definitely contributed."
The Irish posted three scores under par and one score at even par this weekend. For the second round, sophomore Kelli Oride also posted a two-under-par 70 and sophomore Ashley Armstrong broke even. Oride finished tied for ninth and Armstrong ended tied with Campbell for 12th.
"We had great individual efforts," Holt said. "There were three rounds under par by three different people. That's a good sign. But that doesn't help when more than one 78 is shot at the same time. We only have to take the top four scores, so we want to balance the four scores. We are capable of all shooting rounds like that, but this time around we didn't."
Notre Dame started and finished sluggishly as it scored 298 and 299 in the first and third rounds, respectively. The Irish posted a score of 290 in the second round. Coach Holt said rounds like the second posted Saturday should happen more consistently, but the Irish still have work to do to get there.
"We need to work on our short game as a team," Holt said. "Purdue's short game is pretty impressive and that's what great teams do. If we are going to keep up with great teams, we need to get the ball in the hole faster. And the best way to do that is through our short game. Individually, they all have certain things they need to work on, so we will just keep working at it and strive to get better. We will look at stat sheets and keep on working on what we need to do."
The Irish next compete at the Windy City Collegiate Classic Oct. 1-2 in Glenview, Ill.
Contact Isaac Lorton at ilorton@nd.edu
