Campbell, DiLisio lead Notre Dame to sixth at Westbrook Spring Invitational

   It could have been better, but it’s hard for the Notre Dame women’s golf team, ranked No. 23 by GolfWeek, to complain about a total that was the fifth-best 54-hole score in school history, even if it did yield just a sixth-place finish Monday as the Fighting Irish teed off the spring portion of their schedule at the Westbrook Spring Invitational hosted by Wisconsin in Peoria, Ariz.

   With Talia Campbell, the senior captain from Dallas, and Isabella DiLisio, the freshman who won the 2013 PIAA Class AAA title as a junior at Mount St. Joseph, leading the way, Notre Dame posted a final-round 289 over the 6,269-yard, par-72 Vistas Course at Westbrook Village Country Club. That gave them a 54-hole total of 1-over 865.

   But the Irish were just a shot behind fifth-place finisher SMU, ranked No. 41 by GolfWeek, two shots behind No. 26 UNLV in fourth and just four back of Kansas State in third. SMU had the day’s best round, a 6-under 282, to move into fifth place at even-par 264. UNLV posted a 290 for a 1-under 863 total and Kansas State matched par at 288 for a 3-under 861 total.

   Oregon, ranked 30^th, took a six-shot lead into Monday’s final round and fired a solid 1-under 287 for a 10-under 854 total and a five-shot victory over 41^st-ranked Ohio St., which closed with a 4-under 284 for a 5-under 859 total.

   The Ducks were paced by three players who finished in the top 10, including two players who finished in a large group that was tied for third at 4-under 212. Cathleen Santoso, a junior from Australia,  fired a final-round 2-under 70 to get to 4-under and Caroline Inglis, a senior from Eugene, Ore. who was the 36-hole leader at 5-under, posted a 1-over 73 to fall back to 4-under. Kathleen Scavo, a freshman from Benicia, Calif., carded a 1-under 71 to finish in a large group tied for ninth that included Notre Dame’s Campbell and DiLisio at 2-under 214.

   Campbell signed for a 1-over 73 and DiLisio posted a solid 1-under 71 to earn Notre Dame co-medalist honors. The 2-under 214 total matched DiLisio’s career best set last fall at Nebraska’s Chip-N Club Invitational. Emma Albrecht, a freshman from Ormond Beach, Fla. had a 1-over 73 to finish in a tie for 33^rd at 219, Maddie Rose Hamilton, a freshman from Louisville, matched par with a 72 that included an eagle on her final hole of the day, the fifth at Westbrook, to finish in a tie for 48^th at 222 and Kari Belville, a sophomore from Granger, Ind., struggled with an 83 to finish in a tie for 79^th at 231. Jordan Ferreira, a junior from University Place, Wash., competed as an individual for the Fighting Irish and closed with an even-par 72 to finish in a tie for 58^th at 224.

   Notre Dame broke 870 for the third time in its last four tournaments after bettering the 870 mark on a par-72 course just three times in the program’s 27-year history before the 2015-16 season. Campbell, the captain, is the only senior in the group that traveled to the Westbrook.

   Wisconsin’s Brooke Ferrell, a junior from Edgerton, Wis., and Emma Henrikson, a senior from Sweden, shared medalist honors as they matched the day’s best score, each firing a 3-under 69, to emerge from a tight pack and finish at 5-under 211.

   Five players finished in a tie for third at 4-under 212, including Oregon’s Santoso and Inglis, Kansas State’s Connie Jaffrey, a sophomore from Scotland, Indiana’s Erin Harper, a freshman from Dublin, Ohio, and SMU’s Jenny Haglund, a junior from Australia. Jaffrey matched par with a 72, Harper fired a 2-under 70 and Haglund also matched the day’s best score with her 3-under 69.

   Runnerup Ohio State was led by Jessica Porvasnik, a junior from Hinckley, Ohio, and  Jaclyn Lee, a freshman from Canada, both of whom finished in the tie for ninth along with Oregon’s Scavo at 2-under 214. Porvasnik had a final-round 73 while Lee was another player who matched the day’s best score with a 3-under 69.

   In addition to Jaffrey’s tie for third, Kansas State got a solid showing from Katherine Gravel-Coursol, a junior from Canada, who posted a 1-over 73 to finish alone in eighth place at 3-under 213.