Notre Dame finishes first, Penn State third in Bettie Lou Evans Invitational

   Notre Dame is in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Penn State in the Big Ten. They are gritty teams in circuits with some serious heavyweights.

   But that doesn’t mean they can’t aspire to being one of the teams that gets invited to the NCAA regionals, to be one of the teams with a chance to make it to the NCAA Championship next spring.

Each team took a step closer to that goal at the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational, hosted by Kentucky, which wrapped up with a double-round Saturday at the University Club of Kentucky’s Big Blue Course. Originally scheduled to be a three-day tournament with 18 holes a day that would finish Sunday, tournament officials, with some Hurricane Nate remnants expected to arrive in Lexington, Ky. Sunday, did a quick reset and ordered the ladies to play two Saturday.

   Notre Dame captured the tournament title with rounds of 8-over 296 and 4-over 292, which tied Toledo for the low team round Saturday afternoon, for an 8-over 872 total. The Fighting Irish had grabbed the lead with a 4-under 284 in Friday’s opening round. Penn State, with rounds of 4-over 292 and 10-over 298 Saturday, finished third at 16-over 820. Penn State’s Big Ten rival, Wisconsin, finished second at 12-over 876, four shots behind the Fighting Irish and four shots ahead of the Nittany Lions. The Badgers’ 1-over 289 Saturday morning was the low round of the middle 18.

Host Kentucky was a shot behind Penn State in fourth at 17-over 881 after a final-round 293 and Illinois, another Big Ten entry, finished fifth in the 16-team field at 25-over 889 after a final-round 296.

   Notre Dame also had an individual co-champion in Emma Albrecht, a junior from Ormond Beach, Fla. who opened with a 2-under 70 Friday over the 6,221-yard, par-72 Big Blue layout, added a 3-under 69 Saturday morning and matched par in the final round with a 72 for a 5-under 211 total.

   Albrecht represented the Irish at the Columbus Regional last spring after being invited as an individual. I’m sure she would be happy to have the rest of the team along for the ride next spring.

Kentucky’s Gracie Rose, a junior from Nicholasville, Ky., fired a final round of 4-under 68 to catch Albrecht for a share of medalist honors at 211.

   The Irish got another strong showing from Maddie Rose Hamilton, a junior from Louisville, Ky. who finished in a tie for fourth at even-par 216. Hamilton opened with a 2-under 70 and added a pair of 1-over 73s.

   Abby Heck, a freshman from Memphis, Tenn., finished tied for 15^th at 6-over 222 after a final-round 76.

   I’ve followed Notre Dame a little closer than most teams because of the presence of Isabella DiLisio and Alison Snakard, teammates at Mount St. Joseph, on the roster. DiLisio, a junior who won the 2013 PIAA Class AAA championship, finished tied for 20^th. She opened with an even-par 72 and her 1-under 71 was the Irish’s best of the final round, but she struggled to an 80 in the middle round.   Snakard, a senior and the team captain, finished 79^th with rounds of 82, 82 and 80 for a 244 total.

   Mia Ayer, a sophomore from Waco, Texas, competed as an individual and finished tied for 36^th at 230, including an impressive 1-under 71 in Saturday morning’s round.

   Penn State’s roster is filled with a lot DiLisio’s old rivals in District One and state competition. Denise St. Pierre’s team keeps getting better, a little bit at a time. Penn State was coming off a solid runnerup finish to the ACC’s Maryland in its Nittany Lion Invitational two weeks ago.

   Junior Lauren Waller, the 2014 PIAA Class AAA runnerup as a senior at Canon-McMillan, led the way for Penn State, finishing in the group tied for fourth at even-par 216. She was contending for the individual  title after rounds of 1-under 71 and a sparkling 4-under 68, but fell back a little with a final round of 77.

   Sophomore Madelein Herr, a former Council Rock North standout, finished tied for 13^th at 221. She had a final-round 75 after a pair of 1-over 73s.

   Junior Cara Basso, who won the 2012 Class AA title as a sophomore at Villa Maria Academy, and junior Jackie Rogowicz, the runnerup to DiLisio in 2013 at the state tournament and a two-time District One champion at Pennsbury, each ended up in the group tied for 22^nd at 224. Basso finished up with a 2-over 74 and Rogowicz had a 1-over 73 Saturday afternoon. Basso and Herr finished tied for second in the Nittany Lion Invitational.

   Ariana Coyle Diaz, a senior from Ireland, finished tied for 36^th at 230, which included a solid even-par 72 in the opening round.

   Kamerine Taylor, a junior from Dublin, Ohio, competed as an individual and also ended up in the group tied for 36^th at 230, including a 1-over 73 in Saturday morning’s middle round.

   Toledo’s Thailand connection was evident in the top five in the Bettie Lou Evans as Pimchanok Kawil a junior, finished third, three shots behind Albrecht and Rose at 2-under 214, and Pinyada Kuranun, a senior, joined Notre Dame’s Hamilton and Penn State’s Waller to round out the trio tied for fourth at even-par 216. Kawil sandwiched a 76 with a pair of 3-under 69s while Kuranun finished up strong with a final round of 4-under 68.

   I have also paid a lot of attention to North Carolina due to the presence of former Radnor standout Brynn Walker, another contemporary of DiLisio, Waller, Basso, Rogowicz and Herr on the Pennsylvania scholastic scene, on the Tar Heels’ roster.

   I had noticed that Lexi Harkins, who had been a big part of the Tar Heels’ run to the brink of making match play in the NCAA Championship last spring, was missing from their lineup this fall. I had wondered where she ended up. I found her.

   Harkins, a senior from Crystal Lake, Ill., finished alone in seventh at 1-over 217 to lead the way for runnerup Wisconsin. She had steady rounds of 73, 72 and 72. The Tar Heels’ loss will be the Badgers’ gain.