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NCAA women’s regionals: Texas, Virginia charge on Day 2

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The NCAA Division I women’s golf regionals continued Tuesday at four sites across the country: Tumble Creek Club in Cle Elum, Wash., Forest Akers West Golf Course in Lansing, Mich., Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club in Norman, Okla., and Saugahatchee Country Club in Opelika, Ala.

The regionals will conclude Wednesday with the top six teams from each advancing to the NCAA Championship.

Here is everything you need to know from Day 2:


NCAA Auburn Regional

Currently in: 1. Duke (+1), 2. Virginia (+3), 3. Florida State (+4), 3. Vanderbilt (+4), 5. East Carolina (+10), 6. Auburn (+13), 6. Tennessee (+13)

Chasing: 8. Maryland (+15), 9. Furman (+17), 10. Houston (+23)

Individual leaders: Auston Kim, Purdue; Virunpat Olankitkunchai, Maryland; and Linette Holmslykke, Murray State (-4)

Round of the day: Virginia. Led by Beth Lillie’s 4-under 68, the Cavaliers shot 5-under 283 to climb five spots on the leaderboard to second, at 3 over, just two shots back of Duke. More impressive is Virginia even had to throw out its No. 1 player’s score as Anna Redding shot 76. The fifth-seeded Cavaliers are trying to advance to their 11th NCAA Championship in the program’s 16-year history.

On the cutline: Auburn and Tennessee. With No. 1 player Julie McCarthy continuing to struggle, now at 7 over, the host Tigers relied on their Nos. 3-5 players to climb into a share of sixth Tuesday. Kaleigh Telfer and Brooke Sansom each shot 72 while No. 5 player Elena Huadle fired a team-leading 71 for fourth-seeded Auburn, which carded a 2-over 290. Tennessee, the 11th seed, was once again paced by Mariah Smith, whose second-round 72 left her at 1 under and in a share of fifth individually through 36 holes. The Vols are trying to advance to their first NCAA Championship since 2016. They placed fifth in 2015.

Falling back: Alabama. Coming into this regional, not much was expected out of the Crimson Tide, who lost their two best players, Lauren Stephenson and Kristen Gillman, to the pros before the spring. But after Monday, Alabama was just six shots back of a tie for fifth. A day later and the Tide are now in 11th place and 14 back of the cutline after a 15-over 303. Jiwon Jeon, the team’s de facto top player but also the fourth-ranked individual in the country, has gone 77-75 through two rounds and is T-59 at 8 over.


NCAA Norman Regional

Currently in: 1. Texas (-8), 2. Florida (-7), 3. Purdue (-2), 4. Wake Forest (-1), 5. Arizona State (+3), 6. Ole Miss (+5), 6. Texas Tech (+5)

Chasing: 8. Mississippi State (+6), 9. Virginia Tech (+12), 10. Oklahoma (+13), 10. North Carolina State (+13), 12. TCU (+14)

Individual leader: Olivia Mehaffey, Arizona State (-9)

Round of the day: Texas. The No. 1 seed and three-time reigning Big 12 champs played like it Tuesday. The Longhorns, ranked second in the country, shot 7-under 281 behind a 4-under 68 from Agathe Laisne, who is tied for third individually at 5 under. Kaitlyn Papp added a 70 as she moved to T-8 at 3 under. Texas’ four counting players combined to make just five bogeys in Round 2, and the Longhorns are now a shot ahead of Florida and more importantly 13 clear of the two teams tied for sixth.

On the cutline: Ole Miss and Texas Tech. The Rebels and Red Raiders each shot 6 over to fall three spots apiece on the leaderboard. Ole Miss, the ninth seed, didn’t have a player shoot par or better on Tuesday. Freshman Macy Somoskey, the hero of the SEC Championship, led the way with a second-round 71, but she’s also T-63 thanks to a first-round 80. The 10th-seeded Red Raiders got nine birdies from their five players on Day 2, but eight of those came from Anna Dong and Mami Yamamoto. They had to count Louisa Brunt’s 77. However, both teams are still in position to advance. Ole Miss is looking to make its second straight NCAA Championship after qualifying for the program’s first last season. Texas Tech is trying to make its third NCAA Championship in five years.

Falling back: North Carolina State. After sitting solo second and just one shot off the lead after 18 holes, the 13th-seeded Wolfpack plummeted eight spots to T-10 after a 16-over 304. Two players shot 83.


NCAA East Lansing Regional

Currently in: 1. Kent State (-3), 2. Arizona (-2), 3. UCLA (+5), 4. Stanford (+12), 5. Indiana (+16), 5. Illinois (+16)

Chasing: 7. LSU (+19), 7. Baylor (+19), 9. Michigan State (+5), 10. Augusta (+23)

Individual leader: Patty Tavatanakit, UCLA (-7)

Round of the day: Arizona. Despite cold and rainy conditions that forced an afternoon shotgun start, the reigning national champions shot 4-under 284 to gain seven shots on leader Kent State. Now, the Wildcats trail by just a shot, but more importantly they are 18 shots above the cutline. The two seed boasts four players in the top 10, all of whom were on last year’s NCAA squad. Haley Moore (T-10) and Sandra Nordaas (T-6) each made an eagle and shot 2-under 70 on Tuesday.

On the cutline: Indiana and Illinois. The Big Ten teams are hanging on to the final two spots despite shooting 11 over and 12 over, respectively. The Hoosiers, the last team into the regionals, started on the first few holes, but their five players combined to make just one birdie on the first 11 holes. However, no player shot worse than 76. The Illini had a similarly slow start as their players went a combined 8 over on their first holes. Kornkamol Sukaree was the lone bright spot, shooting her second straight 1-under 71 to move into a share of third at 2 under.

Falling back: Michigan State. The hosts shot 15 over and dropped five spots to ninth, four shots back of Indiana and Illinois. The Spartans’ counting scores went a combined 14 over in their final six holes with no birdies. No. 5 player Haylin Harris is solo second individually at 3 under, but her second-round 72 couldn’t do much to offset the two 79s that Michigan State counted.


NCAA Cle Elum Regional

Currently in: 1. USC (-10), 2. Washington (+2), 3. San Jose State (+6), 4. Arkansas (+7), 5. Northwestern (+5), 6. Ohio State (+12), 6. UCF (+12)

Chasing: 8. Oregon State (+13), 9. Oregon (+15), 10. South Carolina (+18), 10. San Diego State (+18)

Individual leader: Jennifer Chang, USC (-7)

Round of the day: USC. The top-ranked and top-seeded Trojans fired a 3-under 285, eight shots better than the next best round shot by Washington and San Jose State, to build a 12-shot lead entering the final day. USC is proving its depth – All-Pac 12 golfer Amelia Garvey was left home – with four players in the top 13. Jennifer Chang used a 5-under 67 to move into the individual lead at 7 under while Alyaa Abdulghany and Malia Nam are eighth and T-9, respectively. USC, which has six wins this season (the most since the Trojans won nine in 2013-14), has advanced to 21 straight NCAA Championships and won an NCAA-best 12 regional titles. The Trojans, though, only have three NCAA titles, and none since 2013. They advanced to the semifinals of NCAA match play in 2017 and ’18.

On the cutline: Ohio State and UCF. The Buckeyes have made 25 straight regionals and had advanced to the NCAA Championship 22 times prior to this season. UCF has never played in an NCAA Championship as a team. Both teams will begin Wednesday just a shot clear of Oregon State.

Falling back: Northwestern. After a 14-over performance, the Wildcats are only two inside the cutline after 36 holes. Senior Stephanie Lau shot 81 after firing a 68 in Round 1. Northwestern had to count a 78 and 77.