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OCTOBER 27, 2001
REIGNING U.S. AMATEUR CHAMP LEADS LADY PALADIN MEDALIST RACE
TOP -RANKED AUBURN ALONE IN FIRST
GREENVILLE, South Carolina -- Reigning U.S. Amateur champion Meredith Duncan of LSU followed up a first round 72 with a one-under 71 on Saturday to take the lead at the 31st annual Lady Paladin Invitational with a two-day 143 total. Despite Duncan's efforts, 21st-ranked LSU is in third in the team standings behind top-ranked Auburn and 22nd-ranked Wake Forest.
Auburn fired a 300 in Saturday's second round to pull ahead of Wake Forest by two strokes. The Tigers are at 599 with one round left to play, while Wake sits in second at 601 and LSU totals 608. The University of Florida was the big mover on Saturday, carding a tournament-low 299 to move from 11th into fifth with a 611 tally. The 15th-ranked Gators are tied with no. 5 Vanderbilt. Furman meanwhile, fired a 316 to fall from ninth into 10th.
LSU's Duncan and Wake Forest's Nuria Clau entered the second round tied for first at even par with Ohio State's Ashley Lowery third at 73 and Auburn's Celeste Troche and Wake's Maria Beautell tied for fourth at 74. Duncan and Clau remain atop the leaderboard, though Duncan holds a two stroke lead, but Auburn's Danielle Downey has taken over third after a second-round 72 (147) and Wake's Deborah Means is fourth after carding a 73 for a 148 total.
Reigning Lady Paladin champion Troche fired a 76 in the second round and is eighth at 150, seven strokes off the lead pace.
Furman's top performer so far is junior Cimmie Shahan, who fired 75-80 and is tied for 26th with 11 others. Leigh Turner, Sarah Johnston and Brandi Jackson are tied for 43rd with a 157 total, while senior Tara Schultz is in 98th with a 173 two-round tally.
The third and final round of the Lady Paladin Invitational is slated for Sunday. A shotgun start will begin play at 9 a.m. The host Lady Paladins will tee off holes seven, eight and nine, while Auburn, Wake Forest, LSU and TCU tee off holes one through three.