FINDLAY, OH â€" Two rounds of golf on Friday allowed Florida Southern to move up two spots, but the Moccasins actually lost ground to a new leader at the top of the standings. With Nova Southeastern counting nothing worse than a 78 in either round, the Sharks jumped over four teams to take control of the NCAA Division II National Tournament.
With one round remaining, Florida Southern was able to move from eighth place to sixth place, and at one point all the way to third. The Moccasins’ mid-day run ended prematurely though, and at the end of the day they trailed the Sharks by 24 strokes.
With rain washing out Thursday’s scheduled action, Tarleton State got to enjoy its first-round lead for an extra day, but Friday did not go well for the team from Texas. By the time first-round individual leader Carla Cooper was teeing off as their final golfer, the TexAnns were already 10-over in the second round and had fallen to third place behind Indianapolis and Rollins. Cooper then bogeyed five of her first nine holes and Tarleton State never recovered.
Florida Southern, on the other hand, got off to a good start behind Kim Ulander, who picked up two early birdies and helped the Moccasins cut eight strokes off what had been a 19-stroke deficit. Heather Burgner then birdied back-to-back holes in the middle of the round, and Marianne Andersson shot even par over the back nine to keep the Mocs going. They finished with a 307 in the second round that moved them from eighth place to sixth, and from 19 strokes down to 11 behind the new tournament leader, Nova Southeastern.
The Sharks got 74’s from Sandra Changkija and Maria Garcia Austt, and also had a pair of 77’s to shoot 302 as a team. That was enough to give them a two-shot lead over Indianapolis, which had to count an 84 among its scores. Grand Valley State (MI) was in third place at the end of round two, trailing Nova by only three shots.
Tarleton State, Rollins and Florida Southern were bunched together after that group. It was an especially frustrating spot for the Tars, who looked to be making a move before Laura Fourdraine and Joanna Coe each had a double bogey on their final hole.
Round three got underway early in the afternoon while some teams were still finishing round two. It was another good start for Florida Southern as Andersson was the Mocs’ first player on the course and cut into the deficit even further. Combined with slow starts by Grand Valley State and Rollins, Florida Southern was able to briefly jump into third place and within striking distance of the leaders.
The momentum slipped away from the Mocs later in the day, however, while Nova Southeastern started to pull away from all but Indianapolis. The Sharks were among the first teams finished with round three, and while they didn’t shoot quite as well as they did in the morning, it was still enough to take a 6-stroke lead into the clubhouse. When Indianapolis completed its round a little while later, that lead was up to 10 strokes. The Greyhounds again had to count an ugly score, this time an 86. That nearly cost them second place in the standings with Rollins only one stroke behind them, and Grand Valley State two strokes behind the Tars.
Florida Southern was still on the course after most of the top five teams were finished, but was unable to gain any ground at that point. By then, the Moccasins had fallen from third back to sixth and had to count three scores in the 80’s.
While Andersson was the Mocs’ top golfer in round two with a 75, followed by Burgner with a 76, Burgner was their top player in round three with a 79.
Burgner was tied for 12th in the player standings with a score of 233, trailing Lyndsay McBride of Indianapolis by 12 strokes. Andersson was tied for 28th with a 3-round total of 237. Ulander, Silvie Dittertova and Emily Flanigan were all tied for 31st with scores of 240.
The final round of the national tournament is Saturday at Findlay Country Club.
FOR LIVE SCORING AND COMPLETE STATS,
CLICK THE "BOX SCORE" LINK AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE
