Tulane Women's Golf Posts Impressive Day Two Showing

CLEMMONS, N.C. - Senior Kathy Schafer and sophomore Lindsay Hulwick fired one-over par 72 and the Green Wave trimmed 16 strokes off its day-one total as the Tulane University women's golf team stormed back in day two of the NCAA East Regional with a 293.

The Green Wave got off to a shaky start on Thursday with a 309 to finish day one 19th out of 21 teams, but came back strong on Friday to finish the day in 11th place. Tulane still has some work cut out for itself as the squad in Olive and Blue is still 10 stroke back of eighth-place Florida State as the top eight teams in each regional advance to the NCAA Championships.

"We're obviously in better shape today than we were yesterday," head coach Sue Bower said. "Our calling card all year has been strong finishes. We've put ourselves in a position to make a run at a top-eight spot, but we're going to have to play extremely well to have a chance.

"I'm extremely proud of the way the team played today. It was evident that we did not play up to our potential yesterday, but they bounced back today and battled and made up some ground. It's going to take that kind of effort again tomorrow to advance, and I like our chances."

Schafer, junior Carolin Landmann and freshman Liliana Alvarez are tied for the team lead with nine-over par 151s to rank tied for 44th in the individual race, and Hulwick is close behind with a plus-10 152 to tie for 52nd. Sophomore Alexis Wooster rounds out the Tulane five with a 16-over par 158 to finish tied for 84th.

Wooster cut 10 strokes off her day-one total, however, with a three-over par 74, and Alvarez fired a four-over par 75 which was one stroke better than her Thursday score. Landmann, meanwhile, shot a plus-six 77 on Friday.

Top-seeded Duke leads the team scoring with a six-over par 574 (288-286), and holds a nine-stroke lead on second-place Vanderbilt which has a 15-over par 583 (295-288).

In the individual race, North Carolina's Meaghan Fracella holds a one-stroke lead with a four-under 138, just ahead of Brandi Jackson of Furman and Kristy McPherson of South Carolina.

Tulane and the 21-team Regional field return to action on Saturday with the final 18 holes of the competition.

Team Scores: 1. Duke 288-286=574 (+6); 2. Vanderbilt 295-288=583 (+15); 3. Georgia 294-290=584 (+16); 4. North Carolina 301-287=588 (+20); 5. Auburn 298-291=589 (+21); 6. South Carolina 303-287=590 (+22); 7. Arizona 303-288=591 (+23); 8. Florida State 290-302=592 (+24); T9. Wake Forest 307-293=600 (+32), Furman 307-293=600 (+32); 11. Tulane 309-293=602 (+34); 12. Mississippi State 306-302=608 (+40); 13. North Carolina State 303-306=609 (+41); 14. East Carolina 300-310=610 (+42); 15. Penn State 305-306=611 (+43); T16. UNC-Wilmington 307-306=613 (+45), Georgia State 306-307=613 (+45), Western Carolina 306-307=613 (+45); 19. South Florida 312-304=616 (+48); 20. Ole Miss 322-302=624 (+56); 21. St. Francis (Pa.) 335-320=655 (+87).

Individual Leaders: 1. Meaghan Fracella (North Carolina) 69-69=138 (-4); T2. Brandi Jackson (Furman) 68-71=139 (-3), Kristy McPherson (South Carolina) 68-71=139 (-3); T4. Viranda Nirapathpongporn (North Carolina) 73-68=141 (-1), Ashley Prang (North Carolina) 77-66=141 (-1), Celeste Troch (Auburn) 70-71=141 (-1).

Tulane Scores: T44. Kathy Schafer 79-72=151 (+9), Liliana Alvarez 76-75=151 (+9), Carolin Landmann 74-77=151 (+9); T52. Lindsay Hulwick 80-72=152 (+10); T84. Alexis Wooster 84-74=158 (+16).