RALEIGH, N.C. – The LSU women’s golf team finished the second day of the Raleigh Regional in third place and senior Madelene Sagstrom posted her fourth straight under par round of the post-season to continue to hold the individual lead after 36 holes.
LSU posted a 16-over par score of 304 to stand at 16-over 592 (288-304) in third place behind top-seed South Carolina, which had the only under par round on the second day of 2-under 286. The Gamecocks are at 5-over 581 (295-286) with Alabama in second at 13-over par 589 (294-295), three in front of LSU.
The top six teams in the regional go to the NCAA Championships in Bradenton, Florida, May 22-27. LSU, the second seed in the regional and the seventh-ranked team in the national performance rankings, is 4-shots clear of the cut line entering Saturday’s final round. Coastal Carolina is fourth at 17-over 593, with Northwestern fifth at 18-over 594 and Ohio State and host NC State are tied for sixth at 20-over par 596.
Only two other teams are within three shots of the cut line.
Sagstrom again dominated the first nine holes with four birdies, turning in 3-under 33, making her 8-under on the first nine holes over two days. Despite a double bogey on the inward nine, she was able to post just 1-over for the 2-under par round of 70, giving her a 36-hole total of 6-under par 138. Sagstrom came into the event as the No. 2 player in the country and the SEC Player of the Year after finishing as the leading active player in stroke average.
She is 2 shots clear of second place Emma Talley of Alabama at 4-under 140 after back-to-back rounds of 70. Lena Schaeffner of Coastal Carolina and Sarah Schmetzel of South Carolina are tied for third at 1-under 143.
Caroline Nistrup, the sophomore for LSU, had a solid round of 73 with one birdie and two bogeys on the card to remain right in the hunt in a tie for fifth at even par 144.
LSU also got a good 4-over 76 from junior Elise Bradley to stand in a tie for 31st at 6-over 150. The Lady Tigers also counted a 13-over 85 from Nadine Dreher.
After two rounds, LSU is tied for second with Alabama and Ohio State with 24 birdies, one less than tournament leader NC State. Most of LSU’s birdies in the first two rounds have come on the front nine holes.
Sagstrom dominates three of the individual statistical categories playing the par 4s in 1-under par, -5 in the par 5 holes and she leads the event with 12 birdies.
The final round Saturday begins at 6:30 a.m. CT The apparent threats to the top six will tee in front of LSU with the Lady Tigers again being in the final wave as the top three teams, South Carolina, Alabama and the Lady Tigers will take to the course at 8:09 a.m. CT. Live scoring will be available at golfstatresults.com with updates during the round at www.Facebook.com/LSUwomensgolf and on Twitter @LSUwomensgolf.
NCAA Raleigh Regional
Raleigh, North Carolina
Second Round Team Results (288-576)
1. South Carolina 295-286 – 581 +5
2. Alabama 294-295 – 589 +13
3. LSU 288-304 – 592 +16
4. Coastal Carolina 303-290 – 593 +17
5. Northwestern 302-292 – 594 +18
T6. Ohio State 292-304; NC State 290-306 – 596 +20
8. Campbell 293-305 – 598 +22
9. UCF 296-303 – 599 +23
T10 Mississippi State 300-306; Furman 298-308; Iowa State 303-303; Florida 299-307 — 606 +30
14. College of Charleston 304-305 – 609 +33
15. GRU Augusta 303-309 – 612 +36
16. Wichita State 312-312 – 624 +48
17. Seton Hall 309-318 – 627 +51
18. Fairleigh Dickinson 328-331 – 659 +83
Individual Top 10 (Par 72-144)
1. Madelene Sagstrom, LSU 68-70 – 138 -6
2. Emma Talley, Alabama 70-70 – 140 -4
T3. Lena Schaeffner, Coastal Carolina 73-70; Sarah Schmetzel, South Carolina, 74-69 – 143 -1
T5. Taylor Totland, Furman 70-74; Justine Dreher, S. Carolina; 71-73; Caroline Nistrup, LSU, 71-73; Rachael Taylor, NC State, 69-75 – 144 E
9. Celia Barquin, Iowa State, 75-70 – 145 +1
T10. Ashley Holder, UCF, 72-74; Juliet Vongphoumy, Maryland, 73-73; Chonlada Chayanun, Iowa State, 72-74; Katja Pogacar, Ohio State, 71-75 – 146 +2
LSU Scores
1. Madelene Sagstrom 68-70 – 138 -6
T5. Carolina Nistrup 71-73 – 144 E
T31. Elise Bradley 74-76 – 150 +6
T80. Nadine Dreher 75-85 –160 +16
94. Carly Ray Goldstein 81-89 – 170 +26