NSU, UCO well back in D-11 Women’s Championship
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Northeastern State women’s golf team maintained its eighth-place position and Central Oklahoma remained in 10th after Friday’s third round of the 2013 NCAA Division II Championships on the par-72, 6,228-yard Legends Course at LPGA International.
The RiverHawks carded a team score of 324 and sits at 95-over-par 959. The team is two strokes clear of No. 22 California (Pa.) in the overall standings.
No. 1 Nova Southeastern shot 295 today and leads the tournament at 17-over 881. The Sharks are the four-time-defending champions and are the only team in the field who has ever won the national title.
No. 2 Lynn is just one stroke away from first, while No. 6 Barry is third at 30-over 894.
NSU’s two seniors both shot 77 in the third round. Whitney McAteer is in solo 27th at 16-over 232, while Kelsey Kirkpatrick is tied for 28th at 17-over 233.
Freshman McCandren Lewis carded an 83 and is tied for 51st at 28-over 244, while sophomore Alex Koch is tied for 60th at 34-over 250. Freshman Kayla Schroeder is solo 72nd at 69-over 285.
Linnea Johansson of Nova Southeastern shot 72 today and is the only player in the field under par. She leads the individual tournament at 1-under.
The RiverHawks will begin teeing off in the final round at 8:40 a.m. Saturday morning on the back nine.
Northeastern State is making its seventh appearance in the national finals and the first since 2007. The seven appearances are tied for fifth-most in NCAA Division II history and are the most of any team participating at this year’s championships.
Central Oklahoma’s struggles continued Friday. The Bronchos made 10 double bogeys and two triple bogeys en route to a season-high 329.
Taylor Neidy had a 79 as UCO had only one player break 80 for the third straight day. Katie Bensch came in with an 80, while Erica Bensch, Aly Seng and Tressa Brumley all shot their worst score of the year with 85s.
“It’s disappointing that we’ve played so poorly this week,” head coach Michael Bond said. “We just haven’t done a good job of staying out of trouble and away from big numbers and we continue to struggle around the greens.
“There’s one round left in our season and hopefully we can finish on a good note.”
UCO started its rounds on the back nine and Neidy got off to a solid start with seven pars and two bogeys in make the turn at 38. The junior standout had two birdies, a bogey and a par on the first four holes of her back nine to get to one-over before dropping six shots to par on the last five holes for a 41.
Katie Bensch had an eventful opening nine, making four bogeys, three birdies and two pars to go out in one-over 37. She pared the par-4 10th hole to stay one-over, but had a triple bogey, double bogey and two bogeys the rest of the way for a back-nine 43.
2013 NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS – Third Round Results
May 17, 2013 at Daytona Beach, Fla.
(par-72, 6,228-yard Legends Course at LPGA International)
Team Results
1. #1 Nova Southeastern 292-294-295=881 (+17)
2. #2 Lynn 301-288-293=882 (+18)
3. #6 Barry 302-294-298=894 (+30)
4. #4 St. Edward’s 304-309-307=920 (+56)
T5. #8 Grand Canyon 309-305-310=924 (+60)
#5 Tarleton State 320-301-303=924 (+60)
7. #21 Indianapolis 321-301-311=933 (+69)
8. #27 Northeastern State 318-317-324=959 (+95)
9. #22 California (Pa.) 327-314-320=961 (+97)
10. #17 Central Oklahoma 326-320-329=975 (+111)
11. #25 Augustana 328-321-328=977 (+113)
12. #36 Ashland 344-325-330=999 (+135)
Top-5 Individuals
1. Linnea Johansson (Nova Southeastern) 73-70-72=215 (-1)
2. Nancy Vergara (Barry) 71-72-73=216 (E)
3. Daniela Ortiz (Nova Southeastern) 67-75-75=217 (+1)
4. Louise Manalo (Lynn) 75-69-74=218 (+2)
5. Ellen Chambers (Lynn) 74-73-73=220 (+4)
NSU Individuals
27. Whitney McAteer 75-80-77=232 (+16)
T28. Kelsey Kirkpatrick 78-78-77=233 (+17)
T51. McCandren Lewis 84-77-83=244 (+28)
T60. Alex Koch 81-82-87=250 (+34)
72. Kayla Schroeder 94-99-94=285 (+69)