The Irish will face high stakes when they take on a tough field at the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C., this weekend.
With a field that includes 11 top-25 teams, this year's tournament bears a clear resemblance to the 2011 Tar Heel Invitational, in which Notre Dame also competed. In that tournament, the Irish faced similarly strong opponents and finished last in an 18-team field that included five teams ranked in the top 10.
Competitors at this weekend's tournament include No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Duke, No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 6 Arkansas, No. 8 Vanderbilt, No. 10 Florida, No. 14 Virginia and No. 15 North Carolina, among others.
This year, Notre Dame has finished no worse than 12th, despite competing against some of the top teams in the nation. Most recently, the Irish finished seventh in a 17-team field that included No. 6 Arkansas and No. 19 Tulane at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship in Knoxville, Tenn.
In the seventh-place effort, the Irish looked to the young tandem of sophomore Talia Campbell and freshman Jordan Ferreira. The pair tied for 14th overall with two-day scores of 144.
Junior captain Ashley Armstrong finished 56th with a two-round score of 152.
The Irish will look to build on a solid fall campaign when they tee off at 9:09 a.m. today at the UNC Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill, N.C. The tournament runs through Sunday.
