EAST LANSING, Mich. – After two rounds at the par-72, 6,325-yard Forest Akers Golf Course, the Pepperdine women's golf team will head into the third and final round tomorrow in third-place with a score of 573 (283-290) at the NCAA East Lansing Regional.
"Thirty-six holes of solid play by all five players and we are in great shape to punch a ticket tomorrow," said Head Coach
Laurie Gibbs. "The weather has been challenging and everyone will be ready to finish strong tomorrow."
The Waves are six strokes ahead of the cut for the NCAA finals site, which will be held at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. from May 17-22. The top five teams, and top individual from a non-advancing team, from the regional sites advance to the final site.
#6 USC has a two and three shot lead for first-place over #8 Northwestern and #21 Pepperdine in second and third respectively, though all three teams spent time in first-place throughout the round today. In turn, the Waves have a two and three shot lead over #30 Michigan State and #18 Florida rounding out the top-five.
Pepperdine had three players in the top-12 after the round completed today, led by junior
Lauren Gomez and sophomore
Jeneath Wong who are both tied for eighth with 2-unders through 36-holes. Senior
Lion Higo is also in the mix after a stellar program-record tying first round yesterday, sitting tied for 12
th and 1-under overall. USC's Bailey Shoemaker has a one-shot lead for first-place currently having finished 8-under after two rounds.
The Waves will be paired with the Trojans and Wildcats once again for the final round tomorrow, teeing off the first hole at 6:15 a.m. PT.
PLAYER SCORES
- Junior Lauren Gomez (Murrieta, Calif.) is tied for eighth with a score of 142 (72-70). She had four birdies in the round and has amassed five in total. She started off with a bogey on the second hole, but then went 4-under through her next bogeyless 12-holes to start moving up the leaderboard. Though she picked up one more bogey late in the round, she finished with three pars for a 2-under performance on the day.
- Sophomore Jeneath Wong (Melbourne, Australia) is also tied for eighth with a 142 (71-71). She bogeyed her first hole of the day, but strung a trio of birdies together in holes three through five to go 3-under through 15 holes of action. She ended the day 1-under in the round and 2-under overall. She is second in the field in par scoring, having made par in 28 of her 36 holes.
- Senior Lion Higo (Gold Coast, Australia) shot a 143 (67-76) through two rounds and is 1-under overall after an impressive first day in the books yesterday. She got off to a slow start in the opening holes, but birdied before the turn to regain composure, shooting 1-under through 11 holes in the middle of the day. She had a few bogeys to end the round 1-under overall. She has amassed seven birdies overall this tournament thus far, ranking fourth among all competitors in the category.
- Senior Kaleiya Romero (San Jose, Calif.) is tied for 24th with a 146 (73-73) after leading the Waves with eight birdies throughout the tournament, including five birdies in the round today. She started the day with a double-bogey, but birdied hole five to start heading back to par. After a bogey on hole six, she posted back-to-back birdies quickly to keep on track through the front nine. The back nine told a similar tale, however, and she finished 1-over on the day and 2-over overall.
- Sophomore Yingzhi Zhu (Nanjing, China) is tied for 47th with a two-round score of 151 (75-76). She amassed three birdies in the round today and has produced four overall.
THE NUMBERS
Team Scores: 1. USC 570; 2. Northwestern 572;
3. Pepperdine 573; 4. Michigan State 575; 5. Florida 576; 6. Denver 579; T7. Kentucky 580; T7. Oklahoma State 580; 9. Augusta 591; 10. Indiana 595; 11. Oakland 597; 12. Illinois State 615.
Individual Scores: 1. Bailey Shoemaker (USC) 136; 2. Lauren Beaudreau (Notre Dame) 137; T3. Maddison Hinson-Tolchard (OKSU) 140; T3. Jennifer Cai (Northwestern) 140; T5. Leila Raines (Michigan State) 141; T5. Ines Archer (Florida) 141; T5. Lauryn Nguyen (Northwestern) 141;
T8. Lauren Gomez (Pepperdine) 142; T8. Jeneath Wong (Pepperdine) 142; T8. Caroline Smith (Indiana) 142; T8. Anna Zanusso (Denver) 142.
