April 24, 2010
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The eighth-ranked Purdue women's golf team maintained its 15-stroke lead with a six-over par, 294-stroke third round at the 2010 Big Ten Championships at the University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wis., on Saturday.
The Boilermakers are one-over par for the tournament with a three-round total of 865 (289+282+294), while No. 19 Ohio State resides in second with an 880 (294+293+293=880) and No. 13 Michigan State is 18 strokes off the pace at 883 (296+290+297=883).
All totaled, Purdue has five of its six players in the top 14 in the tournament individually.
Freshman Laura Gonzalez-Escallon, Purdue's two-seed for the weekend, carded a second consecutive two-under, 70-round, the lowest individual tally of any golfer in the tournament for the day, to vault from fourth to second. Her three-round total of 211 (71+70+70=211) is just one stroke off Michigan's Ashley Bauer (74+65+71-210) for the tournament lead.
Boilermaker top-seed Maude-Aimee LeBlanc, who was in second after the opening two rounds, posted a 76 on Saturday to slip to fourth overall in the individual standings. Still, her even-par three-round tally of 216 (72+68+76=216) leaves her within six strokes of the lead.
Teammates Numa Gulyanamitta (74+73+74=221) and Paula Reto (74+71+76=221) share a three-way tie for 11th in the tournament with Ohio State's Susana Benavides at five-over 221. Gulyanamitta shot a two-over 74 on Saturday to move up two spots from her 13th-place standing after the opening two rounds, while Reto shot a 76 in the third round.
Thea Hoffmeister stands alone in 14th after shooting a 76 on Saturday and a three-round total of 222 (72+74+76=222), and Kishi Sinha lowered her stroke tally for a third straight round with a 74. Sinha opened the tournament on Friday with rounds of 80 and 76.
The final round of the conference championship will begin at 9 a.m. ET with the two-time defending champion Boilermaker contingent starting with Sinha on the first hole at 9:54 a.m. and Gonzales-Escallon teeing off at 10:39. Live scoring of the Big Ten Championships can be found at golfstat.com and daily recaps will be posted to purduesports.com.