April 18, 2009
BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. - The No. 6 Auburn women's golf team slipped to second place following a second-round 12-over-par 296 at the 2009 Southeastern Conference Championship. Heading into Sunday's final round, the Tigers are still in the hunt for the program's seventh SEC title as Auburn sits three strokes behind second-round leader Arkansas.
Hosted by the University of South Carolina, the SEC Championship is a 54-hole stroke play event being played at the University Club at Cobblestone Park in Blythewood, S.C. The par-71 course is playing at 6,204 yards for the tournament
Holding the lead after the first round, Auburn carded only six birdies as a team in the second round, giving up a six-stroke advantage in exchange for a three-stroke deficit. The Tigers have a two-round total of 17-over-par 585, finishing the day behind Arkansas and its 14-over 582.
"We had a very stale day today as a whole," said Auburn head coach Kim Evans. "We lost some ground today to a lot of great teams and really have our work cut out for us tomorrow."
Sitting two strokes behind Auburn is LSU at 19-over-par 587. LSU made the biggest move on the day, going from a tie for seventh to third place after carding the low round of the day - a 2-over-par 286. Tennessee is in fourth with a 20-over-par 588 while in-state rival Alabama rounds out the top five in fifth place with a 23-over 591.
"We are still very much in this tournament," said Evans. "We are looking forward to coming out tomorrow and playing for a SEC Championship."
Holding on to second place was a total team effort for Auburn as the Tigers are the only team in the field with four players in the top 20. Junior Candace Schepperle, a Birmingham native, leads the group in a tie for ninth as her second-round 74 gave her a 3-over-par 145.
Just one stroke behind Schepperle are freshman Patricia Sanz and sophomore Cydney Clanton in a tie for 11th.
A native of Madrid, Spain, Sanz posted the low round for the team and the second-lowest round of the day as she came in with a 2-under-par 69 to get to 4-over-par 146 for the tournament. She posted three birdies on the front nine and a bogey on the back, tallying 14 pars in the round. Clanton (Concord, N.C.) came in with a 4-over 74 to finish the day with a 146.
"Patricia Sanz really put a good round together today," said Evans. "She really jumped on it early and put herself in a good position that really helped save our day down the stretch."
Just two strokes behind them is first-round co-leader Haley Wilson (Fort Mitchell, Ala.) in a tie for 19th. The freshman followed up her 1-under-par performance in the first round with a 7-over 78 in the second round. She tallied 13 pars on the day, but double-bogeys on Nos. 6 and 12 did the damage.
Rounding out the Auburn lineup is senior Mariana Macias (Madrid, Spain). She posted a three-stroke improvement over her first-round score to finish the day with an 8-over-par 79. She now sits in a tie for 55th at 19-over 161.
Georgia's Marta Silva carded the low round of the tournament so far with a 4-under-par 67 in the second round, combining it with her first-round 72 to take the lead heading into the final round. Just one stroke behind her at 2-under-par 140 is Arkansas' Lucy Nunn in second place while South Carolina's Benedicte Toumpsin rounds out the top three at 1-under-par 141.
Final-round tee times are set to begin at 7 a.m. CT off the Nos. 1 and 10 tees. Auburn will go off in the final pairings off the No. 1 tee, along with Arkansas and LSU. Tee times for the Tigers will begin at 7:50 a.m. with Mariana Macias, 8 a.m. with Haley Wilson, 8:10 a.m. with Patricia Sanz, 8:20 a.m. with Cydney Clanton and 8:30 a.m. with Candace Schepperle.
Fans can follow all the action at the SEC Championship with live scoring at www.GolfStat.com.
BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. -- Second-round results from the 2009 Southeastern Conference Championship hosted by the University of South Carolina at the University Club at Cobblestone Park. Par: 71. Yardage: 6,204.
TEAM LEADERBOARD
1 - Arkansas - 295-287--582 (+14)
2 - Auburn - 289-296--585 (+17)
3 - LSU - 301-286--587 (+19)
4 - Tennessee - 295-293--588 (+20)
5 - Alabama - 300-291--591 (+23)
6 - Georgia - 300-292--592 (+24)
T7 - Mississippi - 301-298--599 (+31)
T7 - South Carolina - 299-300--599 (+31)
9 - Florida - 307-295--602 (+34)
10 - Vanderbilt - 304-301--605 (+37)
11 - Kentucky - 313-297--610 (+42)
12 - Mississippi State - 318-307--625 (+57)
TOP-10 INDIVIDUALS AND AUBURN PLAYERS
1 - Marta Silva, Georgia - 72-67--139 (-3)
2 - Lucy Nunn Arkansas - 70-70--140 (-2)
3 - Benedicte Toumpsin, South Carolina - 72-69--141 (-1)
4 - Marina Alex, Vanderbilt - 73-69--142 (E)
T5 - Mallory Hetzel, Georgia - 73-70--143 +1)
T5 - Kathleen Ekey, Alabama - 73-70--143 (+1)
T5 - Jessica Yadloczky, Florida - 72-71--143 (+1)
T5 - Kristin Ingram, Arkansas - 73-70--143 (+1)
T9 - Nicole Smith, Tennessee - 76-69--145 (+3)
T9 - Candace Schepperle, Auburn - 71-74--145 (+3)
T11 - Patricia Sanz, Auburn - 77-69--146 (+4)
T11 - Megan McChrystal, LSU - 76-70--146 (+4)
T11 - Ginny Brown, Tennessee - 74-72--146 (+4)
T11 - Dori Carter, Mississippi - 73-73--146 (+4)
T11 - Cydney Clanton, Auburn - 71-75--146 (+4)
T11 - Tessa Teachman, LSU - 75-71--146 (+4)
T17 - Jaqueline Hedwall, LSU - 73-74--147 (+5)
T17 - Nathalie Mansson, Tennessee - 71-76--147 (+5)
T19 - Mallory Blackwelder, Kentucky - 74-74--148 (+6)
T19 - Alex Schulte, Arkansas - 76-72--148 (+6)
T19 - Ashley Lance, Mississippi - 70-78--148 (+6)
T19 - Haley Wilson, Auburn - 70-78--148 (+6)
T55 - Mariana Macias, Auburn - 82-79--161 (+19)