NORFOLK, Va. -- For the second consecutive year, the ODU women’s golf team landed a spot on the Golfstat NCAA Top 25 Freshman Class Impact Rankings, as the Lady Monarch duo of Charlotte De Corte and Sana Tufail combined for a No. 24 ranking.
“We are extremely excited to have recruiting classes ranked in the top 25 in back-to-back seasons,” head coach Andy Crabtree said. “We are the fastest-rising team in the NCAA, having made a dramatic jump of 80 spots in the rankings, and it’s very exciting to be a part of.”
The rankings are tabulated based on the number of freshmen each team has in its top five, relative strength by division and each team’s respective average score.
Leading the way in the set of rankings published this week was Georgia, while Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Washington and NC State rounded out the top five. The Lady Monarchs came in at No. 24, one spot ahead of in-state rival UVA.
So far in her young collegiate career, ODU freshman Charlotte De Corte notched a sixth place finish at the Golfweek Program Challenge in her Lady Monarch debut, tied for seventh place at the Fighting Camel Classic and tied for 10th at the Lady Pirate Invite. De Corte also represented her home country of Belgium in the highly prestigious Spirit International Amateur Golf Tournament this fall.
Sana Tufail has represented Old Dominion in every tournament this fall in her freshman campaign. The rookie from Abu Dhabi, UAE recorded her highest-finish in a tie for tenth place at the Fighting Camel Classic which helped the Lady Monarchs to a second place team finish.
“Charlotte and Sana have made great contributions to our program already, and they are just getting started,” Crabtree continued. “They have represented ODU at every tournament so far, and their best golf is yet to come. Now they will be looking to build off the momentum and keep improving every day.”
This marks the second straight season that the Lady Monarchs have notched a top-25 freshman class ranking, as the duo of Maggie Simmermacher and Kate Vlasinova was ranked No. 19 by Golfstat last fall.
For the fall of 2015, Crabtree’s squad turned in second place finishes at the Fighting Camel Classic, the Golfweek Program Challenge and the Lady Pirate Invitational, and ODU junior Rachel Walker earned Conference USA Women’s Golfer of the Week honors after registering a third place finish at the Pinehurst Challenge while competing as an individual.
The Old Dominion women’s golf team will take a hiatus from competition during the winter before resuming play at the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Spring Classic from Feb. 28 to March 1 in Kiawah Island, S.C.
Complete Golfstat NCAA Top 25 Freshman Class Impact Rankings
1. Georgia
2. Virginia Tech
3. Notre Dame
4. Washington
5. NC State
6. TCU
7. Clemson
8. UCLA
9. Arizona State
10. UNLV
11. Mercer
12. Kennesaw State
13. Iowa State
14. Gonzaga
15. California
16. Penn State
17. Louisville
18. Oregon
19. Memphis
20. Wake Forest
21. Samford
22. Indiana
23. Texas Tech
24. Old Dominion
25. Virginia