Feb. 26, 2008
Tucson, Ariz. - Competing in the windy desert of Tucson, Ariz., the ninth-ranked Auburn women's golf team moved to seventh after two rounds of play at the Wildcat Invitational. The Tigers will conclude their first tournament of the spring tomorrow at 8 a.m. MST at the par 71, 6,166 Arizona National Golf Course.
"We had as much wind today as I have seen in a while," head coach Kim Evans said. "One hole, 11, really took it out of us today and they are expecting more wind tomorrow. No matter what the conditions we plan to come out and improve our position and play to our potential."
Sophomore Candace Schepperle had the best performance of day two, firing a 5-over 76. C. Schepperle fared better on the back nine as she was 4-over through 12 before back-to-back bogey's on 13 and 14 put her at 6-over. She rebounded back going par on three of four final holes and birdie on 17. She improved 11 spots from yesterday and is currently tied for 19th.
Freshman Cydney Clanton remained at the top for Auburn as she is tied for 15th. Clanton shot a 6-over 77 after turning in six bogeys and two double bogeys. Despite a tough back nine she finished with consecutive birdies to conclude play.
Junior Mariana Macias dropped 19 positions after shooting 10-over 81. Senior Abigale Schepperle moved to 45th after firing 11-over 82. Macias and A. Schepperle combined for 14 bogeys on the day. Senior Margaret Shirley shot 9-over 80. Shirley was 1-under through the first six holes but struggled on seven through 14. She finished strong, going even par on 15 through 18.
Competing as an individual, freshman Sarah Thead fired an 8-over 79 and improved to 58th.
Duke's Amanda Blumenherst remained the leader in the individual race after firing 1-over 72. Oklahoma State's Jaclyn Sweeney is three strokes behind in second and there is a three-way tie for third. Oklahoma State took over the lead on the team side after shooting 14-over 298. Duke moved to second (18-over) and Arizona (24-over) and Southern California (16-over) are tied for third.
Auburn is a mere three strokes out of the top five and 10 strokes from a top three position. The Tigers trail Oklahoma State by 20 strokes. Clanton is nine strokes away from Blumenherst.
Final round action begins on Wednesday at 8 a.m. MST. Auburn will compete with Arizona State, New Mexico and UCLA. For live results, please visit www.golfstat.com