DADE CITY â€" Though round one of the Sunshine State Conference Championships didn’t go as well as the Moccasins would have hoped, round two was a whole lot better as every player in the lineup improved their individual score and helped Florida Southern to one of its best team scores of the season. Their 301 was the second lowest score of the day, while top-ranked Lynn overtook #4 Rollins for the lead with a 296.

All five Florida Southern golfers posted scores in the 70’s on Monday, the first time the Moccasins have accomplished that this year, and the second year in a row they’ve done that in the second round of the SSC Tournament. On average, their five golfers improved their scores from the first round by four strokes, and though Florida Southern remained in seventh place, the gap in the standings was narrowed a bit. The Mocs are now seven strokes out of sixth place, and eight strokes out of fifth instead of double-digits when the day began.

SSC Golf Championship Central

No player made a bigger jump for Florida Southern than Kit Creighton. The sophomore from Buffalo, New York went from an 83 to a 76, which equaled her third lowest score of the season. Starting on the first tee, Creighton made the turn at +1, avenging the +10 she had over that same 9-hole stretch on Sunday.

Sophomore Colleen Panosian (Smyrna, Ga.), senior Jackie Rajek (Suwanee, Ga.) and senior Callie Hodgkinson (Longmont, Colo.) all chopped four strokes off their scores, and junior Emily Rymer (Orlando, Fla.) reduced her score by one stroke. Their combined total of 301 matched the Mocs' third-best single round score of the 2013-14 season.

Rymer was already among the leaders with a one-over par 73 on Sunday, and got a little bit closer to the top with a 72 on Monday. She was one of three golfers in the field to shoot even par in the second round, which was the best individual score of the day. As one of the first golfers to finish her round, Rymer had pulled within four strokes going to the clubhouse, which was good for a fourth-place tie at that point. As the rest of the field completed their rounds, Rymer ended up in a 3-way tie for third with a 2-round total of 145 (+1). For the second day in a row, she had nothing worse than a bogey on any of her 18 holes.

Panosian was tied for 22nd with a 154, while Creighton (159), Rajek (160), and Hodgkinson (162) were 29th, 30th and 31st.

Everyone was still chasing Marie Coors of Saint Leo, who followed her record-setting 66 with a 75. Her total score of three-under par 141 is still the best for any golfer through two rounds of the SSC Tournament since it was first held in 1999. The freshman will need to shoot a 76 or better on Tuesday to break the tournament scoring record based on par, and a 78 or better to break the 3-round scoring record set by Sandra Changkija of Nova Southeastern in 2011.

Three strokes behind Coors is the same player who was in second place when the day began. Lynn’s Jessica Bradley had a 74 on Monday to cut one stroke off the deficit and put her at even-par 144 for the tournament. She got within three by notching birdies on her final two holes.

Four shots back of Coors are Rymer, Hally Leadbetter of Rollins, and Louise Manalo of Lynn, all with scores of one-over par 145. Defending champ Liliana Cammisa from Nova Southeastern is alone in sixth place with a 146.

Although Bradley has been Lynn’s best golfer in the tournament so far, the Knights’ best golfer on Monday was Manalo, who had a 73. Bradley and Samantha Smolen each shot a 74, and Irene Calvo had a 75 to give the Knights their 296. That was 13 shots better than the score posted by Rollins, which was four shots ahead of Lynn at the start of play.

The Tars got a 72 from Leadbetter, but their other three counters had a 78, 79, and 80. That dropped the Tars nine shots behind the Knights. Saint Leo, which is ranked #14 nationally, remained third in the SSC Tournament standings, 10 shots behind Lynn. Seventh-ranked Nova Southeastern was still fourth, 13 shots behind, and 2nd-ranked Barry was fifth, trailing the front-running Knights by 18 shots.

Barry jumped ahead of 3rd-ranked Florida Tech in the standings with a total score of 610, but the Panthers are only one shot behind the Buccaneers in sixth place with a 611. Florida Southern, which is ranked #13, is seventh with a 618, well ahead of eighth-place Tampa, which has a 667.

The tournament concludes on Tuesday at Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club, with a scheduled start time of 8:15 a.m.