The University of Arkansas women’s golf team improved its second-round score by three shots Wednesday but fell further behind surging leader Southern California at the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga.
Senior Victoria Vela shot a 1-under-par 71 as the Razorbacks compiled a 5-over 293 on the University of Georgia Golf Course. That left the Razorbacks at 13-over 589 on the par-72, 6,372-yard course.
“The score was a little better, but we still haven’t fired yet as a team,” Arkansas Coach Shauna Estes-Taylor said.
Southern Cal fired an NCAA Championships record 12-under 276 for a 16-under 560 and seized a 12-stroke advantage over defending national champion Alabama, which is in second place at 4-under 572 for the tournament.
Arkansas sat in a tie for 12th place with Northwestern after play was suspended at 7 p.m. Wednesday because of lightning. Northwestern was one of six teams still on the course and will complete its round this morning.
“The girls played tremendously today, but no lead is safe,” Southern Cal Coach Andrea Gaston said. “As I always say, we need to stay in the moment and take one shot at a time, which is what we did today.”
Vela of Mansfield, Texas, was at 2 over for the day through 13 holes, but she led a team surge with birdies on Nos. 14, 16 and 17 to get under par. Her two-day score of 1-over 145 leads the Razorbacks and is tied for 23rd.
“Victoria’s round was just amazing today,” Estes-Taylor said. “She birdied 16 and 17 to get to one under and just shows you her senior smarts, her leadership and her willingness to put everything into each golf shot.”
The Trojans, who teed off early, put up four under-par rounds, led by a bogey-free 5-under 67 from freshman Annie Park and a 3-under 69 from Kyung Kim. The teams with later tee times Wednesday had to sit through an initial weather delay that lasted 2 hours and 5 minutes.
The nation’s No. 2-ranked golfer, Park is a 7-under 137 and trails No. 1 Stephanie Meadow of Alabama by one stroke in the four-round championships. Meadow had a bogey-free round of 5 under on Wednesday and has made just one bogey through the first 36 holes.
Park won medalist honors at the Pac-12 championships and the NCAA West Regional.
Vanderbilt’s Jenny Hahn was in third place at 6 under, followed by Mississippi State’s Ally McDonald (5 under) and Stanford’s Mariah Stackhouse (4 under).
The Razorbacks gained ground late with five birdies in the final three holes.
Arkansas junior Emily Tubert rallied from 4 over through 11 holes with birdies on Nos. 12, 14 and 18 and shot 1-over 73 to stand at 4-over 148 for the tournament.
“Emily also finished well today, and I think we have some good things to build on,” Estes-Taylor said.
Arkansas freshman Regina Plasencia was solid with 17 pars and a bogey at the par-3 No. 3 to shoot 1 over for the day and is at 150 for the tournament. Freshman Gabriela Lopez had a more drastic performance with three birdies and a pair of double bogeys on her way to a 4-over 76 that left her at 6-over 150. Junior Emma Lavy of Fayetteville, the Razorbacks’ top performer in the opening round, had the team’s drop score of 6 over Wednesday and is at 151 for the tournament.
Sports, Pages 21 on 05/23/2013