Duke Takes Lead at LSU/Cleveland Classic; LSU 11th
BATON ROUGE — The best field in the 26-year history of the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic led to the best teams on paper and in the rankings prove to be the best in Saturday’s round at The University Club course as the No. 1-ranked and two-time defending national champions from Duke took the lead after 36 holes of the Classic.
But going into Sunday’s 8:30 a.m. final shotgun round start, there is no winner quite defined as the next three best teams in the field in terms of rankings — No. 6 Auburn, No. 7 Vanderbilt and No. 13 Tennessee — are poised on the doorstep ready to push their way through if the opportunity presents itself.
Duke improved 10 shots from Friday’s first round of 298 to shoot an even par 288 Saturday in much more benign conditions, posting a 36-hole total of 10-over 586. The Blue Devils are three shots clear of Auburn at 13-over 589 (299-290), six in front of Vandy (the first round leaders who went from 294 to 298 on Saturday) and 11 in front of the Lady Vols at 21-over 597.
One of the nice surprises of the event is also from the SEC as No. 33 Alabama made a nice run up the board and is fifth at 23-over 599.
The LSU Lady Tigers improved by two shots from their first round on Saturday and didn’t have the disastrous trouble that doomed their round on holes 10-14 on Friday, but they couldn’t get any low scores going on either the front or back nines. The Tigers posted a 305 and stands at 36-over par, 612. LSU is in 11th place in the 21-team field.
The Lady Tigers were paced by Caroline Martens with a 76 to go with Friday’s 75 to stand as the best on the individual leader board at seven-over 151, good enough for a tie for 24th place. Rebecca Kuhn had the low round of 75 and Alexis Rather and Melissa Eaton each had a 77.
“It was a little disappointing,” said LSU Coach Karen Bahnsen. “I felt like we could do a bit better. We are trying hard and maybe we are playing a little tight. But we’ve got to make the shots against this type of field to be successful and we let several get away from us. But Sunday is a new day and we look forward to trying to rebound in the final round.”
The nation’s number one collegiate player, Amanda Blumenherst of Duke posted a University Club Women’s Record for 36 holes with a total score of seven-under par 137, besting the former mark of 138 set by former Duke player Leigh Anne Hardin in the first two rounds of the 2002 NCAA East Regionals. Hardin holds the 54 hole record of six-under 210 along with defending champion of the Cleveland Classic, Jacqui Concolino of Vanderbilt.
Hardin followed up Friday’s wind-blown four-under 68 with a three-under par 69.
Concolino is still in the hunt to keep her title, despite shooting a 74 on the second day. She stands at one-under 143 and in third place. The runnerup after 36 holes is Mississippi State’s Amanda Mathis at 71-69 for a four-under 140.
Tennessee’s Marcie Turner, North Carolina State’s Lauren Doughtie and Auburn’s Nicole Hage are tied for fourth at even par 144.
The final round of the LSU/Cleveland Classic is set for a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. and admission for the tournament is free. Live scoring for the final round can be found at www. Golfstat.com.
LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic
Two-round team results (Par 288-576)
1. Duke 298-288 — 587 +10; 2. Auburn 299-290 — 589 +13; 3. Vanderbilt 294-298– 592 +16; 4. Tennessee 298-299 — 597 +21; 5. Alabama 301-298 — 599 +23; 6. Wake Forest 310-294 — 604 +28; 7. Louisville 306-299 — 605 +29; 7. North Carolina 299-306 — 605 +29; 9. South Carolina 310-297 — 607 +31; 10. North Carolina State 308-301 — 609 +33; 11. LSU 307-305 — 612 +36; 12. Virginia 313-300 — 613 +37; 13. Birmingham-Southern 318-297 — 615 +39; 14. Charleston 309-308 — 617 +41; 15. Augusta State 314-304 — 618 +42; 16. Mississippi State 315-304 — 619 +43; 17. Furman 318-308 — 626 +50; 18. UNC Wilmington 321-310 — 631 +55; 19. Memphis 326-317 — 643 +67; 20. Mississippi 325-323 — 648 +72; 21. Kentucky 330-319 — 649 +73.
Individual Top 25 (Par 72-144)
1. Amanda Blumenherst, Duke, 68-69 — 137 -7; 2. Amanda Mathis, Mississippi State, 71-69 — 140 -4; 3. Jacqui Concolino, Vanderbilt, 69-74 — 143 -1; 4. Lauren Doughtie, North Carolina State, 72-72 — 144 E; Nicole Hage, Auburn, 72-72 — 144 E; 4. Marci Turner, Tennessee, 73-71 — 144 E; 7. Mandy Goins, Wake Forest, 73-72 — 145 +1; 7. Marisa Milligan, Auburn, 75-70 — 145 +1; 7. Jill Stupiansky, Birmingham-Southern, 73-72 — 145 +1; 10. Cindy LaCrosse, Louisville, 74-72 — 146 +2; 10. Leah Wigger, Virginia, 75-71 — 146 +2; 12. Jenna Pearson, South Carolina, 71-76 — 147 +3; 12. Candace Schepperle, Auburn, 74-73 — 147 +3; 12. Katie Miller, North Carolina, 71-76 — 147 +3; 12. Laura Goodwin, Alabama, 73-74 — 147 +3; 12. Anna Grzebien, Duke, 74-73 — 147 +3; 17. Angela Oh, Tennessee, 74-74 — 148 +4; 17. Brooke Goodwin, Vanderbilt, 74-74 — 148 +4; 19. Sydney Crane, North Carolina, 75-74 — 149 +5; 19. Lauren Hunt, North Carolina, 73-76 — 149 +5; 19. Jenny Suh, Alabama, 74-75 — 149 +5; 22. Adrienne White, Louisville, 78-72 — 150 +6; 22. Blair Lamb, Furman, 77-73 — 150 +6; 24. Benedicte Toumpsin, South Carolina, 77-74 — 151 +7; 24. Stacey Tate, Memphis, 77-74 — 151 +7; 24. Caroline Martens, LSU, 75-76 — 151 +7; 24. Helena Blomberg, Alabama, 77-74 — 151; 24. Kristen Svicarovich, Vanderbilt, 76-75 — 151 +7; 24. Nicole Smith, Tennessee, 74-77 — 151 +7; 24. Amanda Smith, Augusta State, 74-77 — 151 +7.
LSU Scores
T24. Caroline Martens 75-76 — 151 +7
T31. Rebecca Kuhn 77-75 — 152 +8
T37. Alexis Rather 76-77 — 153 +9
T57. Melissa Eaton 79-77 — 156 +12
T73. Kim Meck 82-78 — 160 +16
T87. Nicola Eaton 81-81 — 162 +18
108. Heather Hoffman 92-84 — 176 +32