University of Tennessee Athletics
South Carolina and Georgia Share Lead at Mercedes-Benz
October 16, 1999 | Women's Golf
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The story continued in the second round of the 1999 Mercedes-Benz Women’s Collegiate Championships. Georgia’s Shauna Estes still holds the individual lead at Gettysvue Polo, Golf and Country Club after a second-round 71. But, South Carolina entered the picture and jumped into first place along with the Bulldogs, and both teams hold scores of 600 heading into Sunday’s final round.
USC and Georgia are looking for the upset, trying to knock off two-time Mercedes champion Duke, who is currently in sixth place at 609. Three additional teams are also in the hunt - Wake Forest in third place (604), Auburn in fourth (606) and Purdue in fifth (608). Wake Forest moved into contention with the help of Maria Beautell’s 72 and Nuria Clau’s 71 Saturday, for second and third place, respectively, on the par 72, 5,985-yard layout. But, the Blue Devils can’t be discarded yet, as they made up 24 strokes last year for the win.
Auburn’s play was highlighted by freshman Danielle Downey, who charged around the course today, firing a 69, the low round for the tournament thus far. She made five birdies to move into a tie for sixth place.
"I hit the ball about 50 times better today than I did yesterday and I was putting well," Downey said. "But, I’m really happy about how well our team did today. We made up about seven or eight strokes, and hopefully we will continue with the same thing tomorrow."
Tennessee did not make up as much ground as they had hoped in front of the home crowd. The squad remained in eighth place after a round of 312 to total 622 in the event. Freshman Erin Simmons fired the low round for the day, recording a 76 to move into a tie for 42nd place. Sophomore Tina Schneeberger hit the turn even par, and finished with a five-over 77 to stay in a tie for 17th place. Rounding out the Lady Vol lineup were sophomore Young-A Yang (t35, 74-82=156), freshman Rosanna Zernatto (t35, 79-77=156), and senior Stacey Bergman (t76, 84-83=167).
"We haven’t played close to our potential," said Lady Vol head coach Lori Brock. "We did have some strong rounds from Erin and Tina, but we have to get off to a good start tomorrow. We’ll be starting near the back side, which has given us some trouble, so hopefully we’ll have a better chance of ending well."
The Mercedes-Benz Championships conclude on Sunday. The final round will commence at 8:30 a.m. with a shotgun start.
Photos of tournament action can be found online at: www.ipix.com/specials/mbchampionship
