Courtesy of Stanford Athletics
It was moving day at the six NCAA Regional sites around the country as teams continued to jockey for position in the hopes of landing a top-four finish to secure their trip to the national finals at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. later this month.
As is the case every year, any final-round drama will not be centered around which team wins its respective regional, but what team withstands the pressure to secure the coveted fourth spot.
In the Ann Arbor Regional, host Michigan will look to fend off Washington to punch its ticket to Scottsdale while at the Stillwater Regional, only five shots separate the next four teams behind Baylor, including top-seeded and host Oklahoma State.
Sixth-seeded Vanderbilt is taking advantage of playing on its home course, where the Commodores have built a five-shot lead over No. 2 seed Alabama at the Franklin Regional, while fourth-seed Texas A&M is five strokes off the cutline.
Three of the four spots in the Albuquerque Regional look to be set, leaving TCU, Florida and Arizona to fight for the fourth spot.
Out West, USC, Stanford and LSU have separated themselves at the Stanford Regional, where Big Ten rivals Northwestern and Purdue are tied for the fourth spot, five strokes clear of Iowa State.
Here's a rundown of second-round action from the six regional sites around the country.
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Tallahassee Regional; Seminole Legacy Golf Club; Tallahassee, Fla.
Florida State and UCLA have separated themselves from the pack in Tallahassee while Mississippi State and South Carolina have a stronghold on the third and fourth spots, with Miami, Fla. seven strokes off the cutline. It looks like Ole Miss will not have a chance to defend its national championship, as the Rebels are 35-over and 16 strokes off the cutline heading into Wednesday's final round.
Emma Spitz of UCLA leads all individuals at 4-under after carding back-to-back rounds of 70, while Florida State's Beatrice Wallin is just two back at 2-under (69-73). Four golfers are tied for third at 1-under, including Letizia Bagnoli of Florida Atlantic.
Top four seeds: 1. South Carolina; 2. UCLA; 3. Florida State; 4. Ole Miss
Advancing teams as of today: t-1. Florida State (+4); UCLA; 3. Mississippi State (+17); 4. South Carolina (+19).
On the outside looking in: 5. Miami (+26); Georgia Southern (+27).
Advancing individuals as of today: Letizia Bagnali, Florida Atlantic (-1); Mindy Herrick, North Florida (+3).
They said it: "The team played smart and disciplined golf today on a very challenging golf course," said head coach Kalen Anderson. "Staying committed to our game plan and playing with conviction around the greens will produce positive results. We are looking forward to competing tomorrow!"
South Carolina head coach Kalen Anderson
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Ann Arbor Regional; University of Michigan Golf Course; Ann Arbor, Mich.
Things are going pretty much as expected in Ann Arbor, where No. 2 seed Virginia holds a three-stroke lead over top-seed San Jose State. Arkansas also looks to be headed to Grayhawk as the Razorbacks sit comfortably in third place, 11 strokes ahead of fourth-plae Michigan. The host Wolverines will take a five-stroke lead over Washington heading into the final round on its home course.
At 3-under 139, Natasha Andrea Oon of San Jose State has a one-stroke lead over Virginia's Jennifer Cleary, while Ela Anacona of Arkansas is lurking at even par.
Top four seeds: 1. San Jose State; 2. Virginia; 3. Michigan; 4. Arkansas
Advancing teams as of today: 1. Virginia (+7); 2. San Jose State (+10); 3. Arkansas (+14); 4. Michigan (+25).
On the outside looking in: 5. Washington (+30).
Advancing individuals as of today: Emily Mahar, Virginia Tech (+1); Jana Melichova, Old Dominion (+1).
They said it: “I’m really proud of the way the team played today. Everybody was really clear in their course management plan and a majority of them executed the shots they intended. When you marry those two things together it equals some great scores.”
Virginia head coach Ria Scott
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Stillwater Regional; Karsten Creek Golf Club; Stillwater, Okla.
Baylor has opened a 13-shot lead on the field after two rounds in Stillwater, where top-seed and host Oklahoma State finds itself in a fight to advance to Grayhawk. After Baylor, only five shots separate the next four teams, including Arizona State (+14), Clemson (+17), Oklahoma State (+18) and Michigan State (+19)
Three Baylor players are in the top four among individuals, including 36-hole leader Gurleen Kaur at 2-under.
Top four seeds: 1. Oklahoma State; 2. Arizona State; 3. Baylor; 4. Auburn
Advancing teams as of today: 1. Baylor (+1), 2. Arizona State (+14); 3. Clemson (+17); 4. Oklahoma State (+18).
On the outside looking in: 5. Michigan State (+19).
Advancing individuals as of today: Anna Nordfors, Campbell (+3); Valentina Rossi, Michigan State (+3); Carla Bernat, Tulane (+3).
They said it: "I think we're one of the deepest teams here. Everybody can go out and shoot a good score for us, and I think that that gives us confidence. Our experience at Karsten Creek also gives us some confidence that might help us more than people who haven't been out here as much. I know how this place plays, and I know how quickly things can change, so we are going to keep our routine the same and we're going to come out here and try to do the same things that we've done the last two days and just fight hard for every shot."
Baylor head coach Jay Goble
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Franklin Regional; Vanderbilt Legends Club; Franklin, Tenn.
Sixth-seeded Vanderbilt is taking advantage of playing on its home course, where the Commodores have built a five-shot lead over No. 2 seed Alabama heading into the final round. At 2-over, Duke looks solid to make its 24th trip to nationals in the last 26 years while top-seed Wake Forest moved into the fourth spot and holds a five-stroke lead over No. 3 seed Texas A&M, which dropped back a spot after a 7-over round on Tuesday.
Jennie Park of Texas A&M fired a 6-under round of 66 on Tuesday to open a three-stroke lead over Alabama's Polly Mack for the individual title.
Top four seeds: 1. Wake Forest; 2. Alabama; 3. Texas A&M; 4. Duke
Advancing teams as of today: 1. Vanderbilt (-7); 2. Alabama (-2); 3. Duke (+3); 4. Wake Forest (+3).
On the outside looking in: 5. Texas A&M (+8); Texas-San Antonio (+11).
Advancing individuals as of today: Natalia Yoko, Augusta (-4); Flair Kuan, Boston (-2); Emily Price, Kent State (-2).
They said it: "Jennie [Park] finished great and is keeping us in it. Collectively, we need to be better and have a bit more discipline on some areas of the course. Jennie has been awesome, and we need to help her. Tomorrow is a new day, and a lot can happen in team golf."
Texas A&M head coach Gerrod Chadwell
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Albuquerque Regional; The Championship Course at UNM; Albuquerque, NM
Oregon is flexing its feathers as a strong No. 1 seed in Albuquerque, where the Ducks hold the 36-hole lead at 8-under. Fifth-seeded Georgia fired a 4-under round to move into solo second, followed by Texas and TCU, while No. 2 seed Florida finds itself one stroke off the cutline heading into the final round.
Oregon's Briana Chacon followed her opening round of 65 with a 3-under 69 and at 10-under, holds a three-stroke lead over Georgia's Jenny Bae.
Top four seeds: 1. Oregon; 2. Florida; 3. Texas; 4. Arizona
Advancing teams as of today: 1. Oregon (-8); 2. Georgia (E); 3. Texas (+1); 4. TCU (+7).
On the outside looking in: 5. Florida (+8); Arizona (+12); Sam Houston State (+12).
Advancing individuals as of today: Jennifer Herbst (-1); Napat Lertsadwattana, New Mexico (-1).
They said it: "Our ladies do a great job of playing for each other and always know the others have their back, which allows us to play with a lot of confidence. We're in a good position but we can't get comfortable."
Oregon head coach Derek Radley
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Stanford Regional; Stanford Golf Course; Stanford, Calif.
While the top three seeds have separated themselves from the pack at Stanford, the intrigue is around which team will land the coveted fourth spot between Purdue and Northwestern. The two Big Ten rivals are knotted at 8-over with 18 strokes standing between them and Grayhawk Golf Club. Iowa State is five off the cutline at 13-over. Fourth-seeded Texas Tech (+19) and fifth-seed Kentucky (+18) have had a tough go of it over the first two rounds.
With five of the eight players who will represent Team USA in the upcoming Curtis Cup Match on hand, the individual field at Stanford is loaded with star power. USC freshman sensation Amari Avery shot a 4-under 67 on Tuesday and at 6-under, enjoys a two-stroke lead over teammate Brianna Navarrosa and LSU's Carla Tejedo. Stanford teammates Rose Zhang and Aline Krauter are two back at 3-under while LSU's Ingrid Lindblad and Northwestern's Jieni Li are lurking at 2-under. First-round leader Latanna Stone of LSU dropped back into a tie for ninth place following a second-round 75 left her at even-par for the tournament.
Top four seeds: 1. Stanford; 2. Southern California; 3. LSU; 4. Texas Tech
Advancing teams as of today: 1. USC (-12); 2. Stanford (-8); 3. LSU (-5); t-4. Purdue (+8); Northwestern.
On the outside looking in: 5. Iowa State (+13).
Advancing individuals as of today: Ruby Chou, Iowa State (-1).
They said it: "Obviously we're in position to have a run at the title, but that to us is not important. What we need to be working on right now is channeling the mentality that we had today. We need to have patient acceptance that the golf ball is going to do what the golf ball is going to do, but if we can just accept the result and move on to the next one, we are good enough that we are always going to have great looks."
Stanford head coach Anne Walker