Barry ended the day with a four-stroke advantage over Saint Leo.
ELGIN, S.C. – For the entirety of Tuesday morning and much of the afternoon, top-seeded Barry and No. 2 seed Saint Leo battled for supremacy, swapping the lead numerous times at the 2017 NCAA Division II Women’s Golf South Super Regional.
But as the day wore on, Barry began to create distance between itself and the Lions, ending the day with a four-stroke lead at 36 over par for the tournament.
“We played the last few holes pretty well,” said Shannon Sykora. “We made some pars on 17 that was playing pretty difficult. I know Saint Leo had some big numbers there so that is probably where the separation was.”
DAY 1 RECAP: Barry's Charlotte Puts starts out strong in regional play
The Buccaneers were 16 over for the day, the second-best score of any team on Tuesday, and have all four scorers among the top 18 in the field. First-round leader Charlotte Puts is in a tie for second with Krissy Ortiz of Lynn one stroke back, while Martina Bertuccioli is six strokes out of the lead in 13th.
The most impressive moment, however, may have belonged to Noemie Pare. She was the day’s biggest mover, jumping up 28 spots with a one-over 73 after beginning the day in 44th, and landed a hole-in-one on the par-three 15th that propelled her to a three-under 33 on the back nine.
“There’s water in the front and the pin was actually quite close to the front edge of the water. So I just tried to get it over the ridge onto the green and it took one hop and went in, so it was pretty fun.
Noemie Pare got a hole-in-one(!!!) on the par-3 15th @GoBarryBucs #NCAAD2 pic.twitter.com/F3U06zclBH
— Newberry Wolves (@NewberrySports) May 9, 2017
“I had a rough start and I came back with a couple of birdies and the hole-in-one made me three-under for the back. It gave me great confidence and I helped the team out today.”
While Pare made the biggest leap of any individual, fourth-seeded Nova Southeastern was equally impressive as a team. The Sharks improved by 30 strokes over their Monday score, shooting the best round of any team thus far with a three-over 301, to pass four teams and move into third.
Hot on their heels was No. 8 seed Lee. The Flames also improved by 30 strokes and matched Barry’s 304 for the second-best round of the tournament. Lee is 46 strokes over par and three shots behind Nova Southeastern for the third and final team berth into the NCAA championships later this month.
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Top-ranked Marie Coors moved from third into first with a steady, one-over 73 that featured 15 pars and a birdie. She noted the change in wind direction and lessons learned from Monday that helped her finish the back nine in three fewer strokes than yesterday’s first round.
“Today we didn’t have that much wind. Basically, the last eight holes yesterday were straight into the wind. Today it was blowing from the side and not as much, so it played easier on the back.
“I learned yesterday that there are a couple of flags you should go for and a couple that you just can’t. There are a couple really tight [fairways] in the back, so I tried to keep it in the middle of the green for those and go for the flags you can attack.”
Six teams will begin Wednesday within 11 strokes of third-place Nova Southeastern. The top three teams after tomorrow’s final round, along with the top three individuals on teams that finish outside the top quarter of the field, will advance to the NCAA Championships.
