Lobos In Top 10 After Second Round of NCAA Championship
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The New Mexico women’s golf team continued its strong play the 2023 NCAA Championship on Saturday during the second round at Grayhawk Golf Club. The Lobos shot even par during Saturday’s round to finish the day in 10th place at 1-under.
A day after shooting the program’s lowest round at a NCAA Championship on Friday morning, the Lobos posted the second-best round in history on Saturday while playing in the challenging hot conditions during the afternoon.
Wake Forest holds the 36-hole lead at 17-under, while Stanford is second at 15-under and South Carolina is third at 14-under. Texas is fourth at 8-under, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M are tied for fifth at 5-under, USC is seventh at 4-under, Pepperdine and Florida State are tied for eighth at 2-under and the Lobos are 10th at 1-under. Those 10 teams are the only ones under par among the 30-team field through 36 holes.
Lauren Lehigh posted the low round of the day for the Lobos with a 3-under 69 on Saturday. She was even for the day through 14 holes before birdies on three of her final four holes of the round. Lehigh is T-24th overall at 2-under through two rounds.
Jenny Lertsadwattana is the top Lobo on the individual leaderboard as she is T-17th at 3-under after a second round 70. She is one of just 16 players in the field to shoot under par in both the first and second rounds. Myah McDonald used two late birdies to get back to even par and shoot 72 on Saturday, while Lisa-Marie Pagliano shot 77 in her second round. Maria Caparros Levin rounded out the UNM lineup with an 80 on Saturday.
“Talk about toughness, we almost lost two players today,” said head coach Jill Trujillo. “Myah and Lisa-Marie both got severely overheated and it was tough on them. For Myah to make those birdies at the end was so big, especially after I thought she was going to pass out on her 12th hole. Lauren just turned it on at the end and made some really clutch birdies. We are still in position and that’s what we wanted. We have to finish a little better tomorrow. I am so proud of how they played today and the guts that they showed, especially battling to the end.”
The Lobos will play the third round of the NCAA Championship on Sunday morning. Following the third round, the field will be in cut in half for the fourth and final round of stroke play on Monday. The top eight teams from stroke play will advance to match play, which will crown the national champion. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be Tuesday and the final will be Wednesday. Golf Channel will televise the action live for the final three days (Monday-Wednesday).