BRADENTON, Fla. -- Junior Annie Park and sophomore Gabriella Then were both even through as much of the second round as time would allow Saturday to lead No. 1 Southern California, which moved into first place after some 30 holes of the 2015 NCAA Championships in Bradenton, Florida.
Weather and a demanding Concessions G.C. course delayed the completion of the first round until Saturday morning, which pushed back the starting time for all parties Saturday.
When play was halted, officially by lightning but with light fading quickly, the Trojans stood at 14-over. USC's 9-over 297 first round was good for a tie for third, but Troy moved into first midway through the front 9 (which started on hole 10) with steady and consistent play.Duke, the first round leader, is second at 23-over while Tennessee is third at 27-over. Both are also among the 12 teams that did not complete second round play.
Baylor leads the dozen teams that finished at a 36-hole 28-over 604 while Purdue and UC Davis are also done, tied for fifth at 33-over 609.
USC is seeking the fourth team title in program history and is riding a nation-leading streak of nine consecutive top-5 finishes..
The 24-team field will be cut to 15 teams after 54 holes while the top eight after the fourth round will advance to the two-day, three-round match play tournament to decide the NCAA team champion. The individual champion will come from the 72 holes of stroke play.
As of now, Park leads the field at 2-under, one better than Arizona's Emma Talley, who completed her second round. The 2013 individual champion completed 11 holes Saturday and had birdies on 11, 17 and 2. She saved par on 15 after blasting her second shot from a water hazard, mud flying as she reached the green.
Then, also even Saturday through 11, is tied for ninth at 3-over. She birdied 12 and then eagled the par 5 13th hole from some 70 yards out. She gave some shots back over the next three holes before getting back to even with a 25-yard putt on 18.
Junior Kyung Kim is tied for 14th at 5-over through 12 holes Saturday. She had two birdies on the day. Sophomore Karen Chung got through 13 holes at 3-over and is tied for 34th at 8-over overall. Freshman Amy Lee was 5-over through 14 holes and is tied for 82nd overall at 15-over.
