March 9, 2009
SORRENTO, Fla. - The 15th-ranked women's golf team dropped to 14th place but remain within five-strokes of a top-five finish after carding a seven-over-par 295 in the second round of play at the UCF Challenge on Monday. Redshirt freshman Thea Hoffmeister put together a team-best four-under-par 68 in her second round and will begin Tuesday's final round in a tie for 12th, six-strokes off the pace.
For the second day in a row, Purdue began play from the 10th tee and played well throughout the back nine, making the turn as a team at even-par. The Boilermakers could not carry the momentum over to the front nine, as Purdue went on to shoot a second round 295 (+7) and a 36-hole total 589 (+13).
Hoffmeister had a career day, coupling a bogey-free round with four birdies to finish with a four-under-par 68, setting a career-low at Purdue and tying for the fourth lowest round in Purdue history. The Berlin, Germany, native will start tomorrow's final round in 12th place, trailing Florida's Jessica Yadloczky by six strokes.
Senior Maria Hernandez carded her second consecutive even-par 72 of the tournament, landing her in a tie for 22nd. The Pamplona, Spain, native flirted with a sub-par round tapping in four birdies throughout the day to climb as low as two-under, but couldn't overcome four bogeys scattered throughout her round on Monday. The two-time Big Ten Golfer of the Year will begin her final round at 9:51 a.m. on Tuesday.
After shooting even-par in her first round, sophomore Maude-Aimee LeBlanc carded a two-over par 74 on Monday for a two-round total 146 (+2), placing her in a tie for 29th. LeBlanc shot well on the back-nine making the turn at one-under par, but fell into trouble after shooting a triple-bogey on the fifth hole and a bogey on No. 8.
Sophomore Junthima Gulyanamitta finished the second round with a 36-hole total 157 (+13), while freshman Vaishavi Sinha enters the final round with a total-score 162 (+18).
The Boilermakers will start the final round in the middle of a highly competitive 10-team group, separated by only five strokes. The entire field, which features 13 teams ranked in the top-25 of the latest Golfworld/NGCA Coaches' Poll , are all chasing first place Arizona State (568, -8) and second place UCLA (569, -7).
The 54-hole tournament is being played at the 6,301-yard par-72 Red Tail Golf Club in Sorrento, Fla. The final round will get underway at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Live scoring for final round can be found on golfstat.com. A full recap and results will be posted at PurdueSports.com at the conclusion of the event.