Wake Forest got back to playing like the second-ranked team in the country on Tuesday of NCAA Division I women’s golf regionals.
LSU, ranked a spot behind the Demon Deacons in Golfstat, will hope its bounce-back performance comes Wednesday.
After none of its players shot under par to leave Wake in a tie for seventh after Monday’s opening round of the Raleigh Regional, the Demon Deacons got a 4-under 68 from Carolina Lopez Chacarra, who was the throw-out score in Round 1 after shooting 75, and 3-under 69 from Rachel Kuehn. As a team, Wake climbed four spots into solo third, seven shots back of leader and host North Carolina State, the eighth seed, and more importtantly two shots clear of sixth-place Florida State.
The Tigers were in a three-way tie for fourth after 18 holes at the Palm Beach Regional, but on Tuesday at PGA National, LSU shot 8 over as a team, falling into a share of seventh at 18 over, five shots back of Texas and South Florida, which are tied for fourth. Latanna Stone sits T-3 individually, but the Tigers have just one other player – Ingrid Lindblad at T-12 – inside the top 25.
The top five teams in each of the six regionals after Wednesday’s third and final round advance to next week’s NCAA Championship at Grayhawk.
“This is regionals, and anything can happen,” LSU head coach Garrett Runion told LSUSports.net. “Things will happen. We’ve had the good fortune of being near the lead and having a chance to win every tournament this spring, and right now it’s a different feeling. I’m just glad we’ve still got one more round to go to give it a shot to advance, and I think they will rise to the occasions because I know they don’t want their season to end here in South Florida.”
Auburn, No. 7 in Golfstat, also made a nice rally on Tuesday. The Tigers went from eighth to fifth and are five shots clear of sixth-place Denver in San Antonio.
“Just a different vibe today from everyone,” Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen told AuburnTigers.com. “Today the focus was hitting as many greens as possible and being completely locked in on every shot. Really proud of the performance by all today. Tomorrow is the final round on a tough golf course, and we need to continue to be sharp, and I am confident that we will play to win.”
On the flip side, Oregon, the reigning national runner-up and No. 8 team in Golfstat, might’ve dug itself too big a hole after 36 holes. The Ducks are 10th at the Westfield Regional, 14 shots back of Virginia and Tulsa, which are tied for fourth.
Meanwhile, No. 1 Stanford and standout sophomore Rose Zhang continue to lead in Pullman, Washington. The Cardinal, who have been down two starters – Rachel Heck and Brooke Seay – the entire spring, are 18 shots up on the team leaderboard while Zhang is a shot clear of Texas Tech’s Shannon Tan.
Here is a look at where each of the six regionals stand with one round to play:
Raleigh Regional
Lonnie Poole GC, Raleigh, North Carolina
In position: 1. North Carolina State (-6), 2. Arizona State (-4), 3. Wake Forest (+1), 4. Arizona (+2), 4. Purdue (+2)
Within striking distance: 6. Florida State (+3), 7. TCU (+4), 8. Florida (+7)
The rest: 9. Campbell (+20), 10. Nebraska (+22), 11. North Texas (+31), 12. Richmond (+42)
Individual leader: Dorota Zalewska, Chattanooga (-9)
Westfield Regional
The Club at Chatham Hills, Westfield, Indiana
In position: 1. Mississippi State (-21), 2. Oregon State (-13), 3. Vanderbilt (-7), 4. Virginia (-5), 4. Tulsa (-5)
Within striking distance: 6. Iowa State (-2), 6. Xavier (-2), 8. Michigan (+1)
The rest: 9. Tennessee (+6), 10. Oregon (+9), 11. Morehead State (+22), 12. Lipscomb (+23)
Individual leader: Julia Lopez Ramirez, Mississippi State (-11)
Palm Beach Gardens Regional
PGA National Resort (Champion), Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
In position: 1. Michigan State (+5), 2. Northwestern (+8), 3. Duke (+12), 4. Texas (+13), 4. South Florida (+13)
Within striking distance: 6. UCF (+15), 7. Arkansas (+18), 7. LSU (+18)
The rest: 9. Cal (+25), 10. Alabama (+26), 11. Penn (+36), 12. Quinnipiac (+61)
Individual leader: Sara Byrne, Miami (-4)
Athens Regional
University of Georgia GC, Athens, Georgia
In position: 1. Georgia (-15), 2. South Carolina (-5), 3. San Jose State (+7), 4. Maryland (+13), 5. Ole Miss (+15), 5. Ohio State (+15), 5. Augusta (+15)
Within striking distance: 8. Kansas (+22), 8. Furman (+22), 10. Kent State (+23)
The rest: 11. College of Charleston (+26), 12. Sacred Heart (+47)
Individual leader: Jenny Bae, Georgia (-8)
San Antonio Regional
TPC San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
In position: 1. Texas A&M (+5), 2. SMU (+9), 3. Oklahoma State (+12), 4. Pepperdine (+15), 5. Auburn (+18)
Within striking distance: 6. Denver (+23), 7. New Mexico (+24), 8. UCLA (+27)
The rest: 9. Sam Houston (+31), 10. ULM (+39), 11. Illinois (+44), 12. Missouri State (+65)
Individual leaders: Camryn Carreon, UTSA (-6)
Pullman Regional
Palouse Ridge, Pullman, Washington
In position: 1. Stanford (-35), 2. Texas Tech (-17), 3. Clemson (-15), 4. USC (-13), 5. Baylor (-12)
Within striking distance: 6. Sacramento State (-8), 7. Cal Poly (-1), 8. UNLV (E), 9. Houston (E), 10. Kentucky (+1)
The rest: 11. North Carolina (+13), 12. Green Bay (+35)
Individual leaders: Rose Zhang, Stanford (-12)
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