Notre Dame will head to Greensboro, North Carolina this weekend to compete in the Bryan National Collegiate Golf Tournament. After placing fifth in the Clover Cup in Mesa, Arizona over spring break, the Irish will seek to repeat a top-5 finish to strengthen their resume. Head coach Susan Holt said the Irish will have quite the competition in this tournament, which includes several top-tier teams.
“We’ll try to [finish top-5], that was one of our goals for the year — to have top-5 finishes in every event. We play a really competitive schedule,” Holt said. “With that being said, there’s 18 teams in [the Bryan National Collegiate Golf Tournament] and about 11 of them are currently ranked in the top-50. It’s a really good field and certainly one that I think we should be competitive in. We’ll have to play well and play three good rounds and that’s certainly something we’re capable of doing,” she said.
In addition to the challenge of facing other talented squads, the Irish will also compete in one of the nation’s most difficult courses.
Holt said the course is not an easy 54-hole course to play in, especially with the weather forecast for Saturday predicting an inevitable rain shower.
"I think having prior knowledge of the course will help,” she said. “The majority of the field stays pretty consistent from year to year, so most of the teams have experience on the course as well. We’re just hoping to put three rounds together and continue to compete and play well like we have all year long,” Holt added.
In addition to the weather forecast, the Irish might have to change their scheduled 18-hole-per-day plan and play 36-holes on Friday and the final 18-hole round on Sunday. That decision will be made by the host schools, Wake Forest and UNCG, in the coming days.
While Holt acknowledged that her squad has performed well throughout the season, she said she has high hopes for specific players this weekend.
"I think [junior] Isabella DiLisio is capable of putting up some really good numbers for us,” she said. "I think if she could be more consistent with doing that it would certainly help the team and it would give her a boost of confidence — which is what this game is all about. Heading into ACC’s and postseason, I think that would be good for the team.”
Holt also commented on the fact that her team has to leave on a Wednesday night for the tournament and does not head back to campus until after Sunday afternoon.
“That’s just the nature of our sports, that’s what plays out. It’s definitely a challenge, at Notre Dame especially. [The players] made it here, they do well in school and compete during the day and study at night, that’s pretty routine for them,” Holt said.
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