April 24, 2007

ONEONTA, Ala. - The University of Memphis women's golf team moved up three strokes during day two of the Conference USA Championships in Oneonta, Ala., to give them sole possession of first place. The Lady Tigers not only moved into the driver's seat, but four of the five are in the Top-20.

Memphis went into the second round claiming fourth place, just two strokes behind the leader. The Lady Tigers are itching for the title. After putting on a solid performance in the second round of play, the Lady Tigers are going into the final round with momentum. Memphis shot a 13-over-par 297 in the second round, giving them a total of 607 after two days.

Stacey Tate entered the second round tied for second place. After shooting an even 71, Tate took over the second place position. The senior is just eight strokes behind the leader with a 144. Tate averaged a 3.38 (+3) on par three scoring, a 4.15 (+3) on par four scoring and finished first in the tournament for par five scoring with an average of 4.25 (-6). The Auckland, New Zealand native had one eagle and eight birdies on the day.

Another Lady Tiger in the Top-20 is senior golfer Kathryn O'Rourke. The Holmes, N.Y. native started out the day in seventh place, and put on a solid performance to keep her tied at seventh place. O'Rourke shot a 5-over-par 76, one stroke better than her performance on Monday. The senior averaged a 3.38 (+4) on par three scoring and a 4.10 (+2) on par four scoring. She tallied five birdies and tallied 19 pars.

Next in line for the Lady Tigers is sophomore Rachel Larson, who is one of the three Memphis golfers in the Top-10. Larson shot a 3-over-par 74, to give her a spot in 10th place. The Longmont, Colo. native put on a stellar performance to move her into the Top-10, after finishing 17th in the opening round. Larson averaged a 4.10 (+2) on par four scoring, posted three birdies and tallied 23 pars.

Junior golfer Dawn-Marie Conaty is the fourth Lady Tiger in the Top-20 after the second round. The Dublin, Ireland native shot a 5-over-par 76, moving her from 17th place to 16th place after two rounds of play. Conaty averaged a 3.25 (+2) on par three scoring and an even 5.00 on par five scoring. She also was able to tally four birdies. The junior is looking to make her way to the Top-10 in final action on Wednesday.

Meghan Mahoney is five strokes away from the Top-20, shooting a 12-over-par 83. The junior finished the second round in 28th place, where she averaged a 3.50 (+4) on par three scoring. The Nantucket, Mass. native averaged a 4.88 (-1) on par five scoring. She is looking to improve in the final round and move up to the Top-20 to join her teammates in the quest for a conference title.

Three strokes behind Memphis, in second place, is the University of Texas-El Paso, shooting a 34-over-par 610. Tied for third place, six strokes behind UTEP are University of Central Florida and East Carolina University. For the individual competition, UTEP's Gerina Mendoza still leads the pack with an 8-under-par 136.

Memphis will tee of at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday for the final round of action. Live scoring can be found at www.conferenceusa.com. The winner of the tournament will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals.