UNC's O'Donnell Leads NCAA West Regional

Friday, May 11

Eric, Col.

All Day

North Carolina

NCAA West Regional

May 11, 2012 | Women's Golf

By: UNC Athletic Communications

May 11, 2012

ERIE, COL. - University of North Carolina senior Catherine O'Donnell fired a 3-under-par 69 in the second round of the NCAA West Regional to grab the individual lead with a 5-under 139 total. The No. 6 ranked Tar Heels stand in fourth place after carding a 10-over 298 on Friday for a 10-over 586 total at the Colorado National Golf Club. The top eight teams and top two individuals not on those eight teams advance on to the NCAA Championships to be played May 22-25 at Vanderbilt's Legend Club in Franklin, Tenn.

"Conditions were very tough this afternoon," said Tar Heel head coach Jan Mann. "The afternoon wave definitely had the worse conditions. I feel that even though we are in third place we could have played a lot better. Catherine (O'Donnell) had a great round today. It was really amazing that under those conditions she could shoot 3-under. We're looking forward to tomorrow. We're only a few shots back and our goal is to go out and win. It doesn't look like we'll have good weather tomorrow, but we look forward to going out and playing our best."

O'Donnell, from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., fired three birdies on the day for a bogey-free round and holds a one-stroke lead in the individual race. Sophomore Casey Grice carded a 2-over 74 on Friday for a 2-over 146 total. Grice, from College Station, Texas, is tied for 12th place after firing an eagle-3 on the 12th hole to highlight her round. Allie White, a senior from Lancaster, Ohio, carded a 77 for a 150 total and is tied for 40th. Junior Courtney Gunter, from Matthews, N.C., posted a 78 for a 151 total and is tied for 47th. Sophomore Katherine Perry, from Cary, N.C., has a 153 total after shooting 80 and is tied for 63rd.

Stanford held on to its first-round lead and stands at 4-over 580 after carding a 293 in the second round, a day with cool temperatures in the 40s and off and on rain. LSU fired the low team round of day, a 2-over 290 for a 5-over 581 total. The Tar Heels are tied with top-ranked UCLA in third place at 10-over 586. Baylor is in fifth place at 13-over 593 while Texas Tech is sixth at 594, Pepperdine is seventh at 596 and California is eighth at 597. Colorado and Illinois are one stroke back in a tie for ninth place at 598.

Carolina's O'Donnell and LSU's Austin Ernst fired the low round of the day, a 3-under 69. O'Donnell's 5-under-par 139 total is one stroke better than Ernst's 4-under 140. Stanford's Sydney Burlison is in third place at 3-under 141 while another Stanford player, Sally Watson, is in fourth place at 2-under 142. Baylor's Hayley Davis is another stroke back at 1-under 143 in fifth place while two players are tied for sixth at even par 144 - Texas Tech's Kimberly Kaufman and San Jose State's Megan Osland.

The final round of the 54-hole event will be played Saturday at Colorado National Golf Club which features a par 72, 6,575-yard layout. Live scoring is available on TarHeelBlue.com and Golfstat.com.