Most of Notre Dame’s student body was away during the past week for spring break, and both the men’s and women’s golf teams were no exception.
But rather than hitting the sand, the Irish were trying to avoid it. As the ACC Championships reach the ”objects in mirror are closer than they appear” stage of the season, both teams looked to generate momentum. While they still have work to do before that critical mid-April competition, they did a lot of it during the past week, with the men’s and women’s teams each competing in a pair of tournaments over break.
Coming off a top-five finish in the Columbia Classic in Feb., the women’s team lost a bit of momentum, tying for 10th in the annual Clover Cup tournament that the Irish host. Junior Chloe Schiavone recorded another top-25 finish; however, she shot shot 74-72-75 to finish tied for 24th. Seniors Lauren Beaudreau and Madelyn Jones both ended the competition on high notes. Both golfers tallied a score of 72 or better in the third and final round.
Beaudreau in particular was able to carry that strong finish into the Florida State Matchup at the Seminole Legacy Golf Club in Tallahassee. The event paired each of the 12 competing schools with one another, and Notre Dame’s partnership with Kentucky produced a second-place finish. Beaudreau, sophomore Montgomery Ferreira and graduate student Caroline Curtis led the Irish. They each tallied a combined score of 233 across the three rounds. Curtis recorded the Irish’s lowest single-round score, a 73 in the middle round.
The men’s team also suffered a bit of regression. After finishing in the top seven in all but one of their first six competitions, the Irish placed eighth and tied for ninth at the Johnnie-O at Sea Island and Schenkel Invitational tournaments, respectively. Notre Dame did flash some exciting potential during the two-day Johnnie-O event, though. Freshman Nate Stevens and sophomore Owen Mullen combined to tally three individual rounds of sub-70 scores. In fact, Stevens’ 64 in the middle round was the lowest single-round score of the entire tournament.
Notre Dame finished the Schenkel Invitational, hosted by Georgia Southern, at plus-14, just five strokes back of sixth-place Wisconsin. Like Stevens earlier in the week, graduate student Andrew O’Leary notched a top-20 finish at the tournament. O’Leary finished at 11, just two strokes back of the top ten. Freshman Calen Sanderson was responsible for Notre Dame’s lone sub-70 round of the tournament, a 69 in the final round.
Both teams showed upside that could shine in the postseason. But there is still more golf to be played before then. The men continue their regular season at the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational on April 1-2. Meanwhile, the women are back in action April 2-4 in the Chattanooga Classic, their final regular season event.
