This weekend, the Notre Dame women's golf team completed the final event on its 2022-23 schedule. After a 10-match regular season, the Irish traveled to Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina for the 2023 ACC Championship.
The Irish were looking to show progress from last year when they came in last place out of the 12 competing schools. And in that respect, Notre Dame certainly succeeded. Finishing in a tie for ninth place with North Carolina is not a result that will jump off the page. But it's the highest the Irish have finished in the ACC Championship over the last five years. Achieving that under a first-year head coach in Caroline Powers Ellis is certainly impressive.
Notre Dame has received some strong individual performances from a few different sources throughout this season. Over the weekend, sophomore Montgomery Ferreira was the one leading the charge for the Irish. The Tacoma, Washington native turned in one of the best individual rounds of the entire field with a 69 in the second round. Ferreira finished the competition two over par, good enough for a 12th-place tie.
Senior Lauren Beaudreau also had a solid weekend. Beaudreau finished at par or under in her first and third rounds, shooting 221 (five over par) overall, good enough for a top-25 finish. Junior Chloe Schiavone did not let a disappointing first-round performance deter her, finishing one under par combined across the final two rounds.
As a team, the Irish improved as the tournament progressed. The Irish were in last place after the first round, which they finished with a score of 308. It was the 10th straight ACC Championship round the Irish failed to finish under 300, a streak dating back to 2019. Notre Dame would break that threshold in each of the next two rounds. Their 291 score in round two was fifth-best among the entire field. And a 295 score in the final round tied for seventh and placed just a few strokes back of the top half of the field.
The NCAA Women's Golf Championship takes place at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, from May 19 to 24. It remains to be seen whether the Irish will have any representation there or not.
