Athens, Ga. – The Georgia State women's golf team improved by nine strokes to take sole possession of 22nd place after the second round of the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic Saturday afternoon. Junior Charlotte Lorentzen led the Panthers Saturday, shooting 2-over par during day two at the par 72, 6,335-yard University of Georgia Course.
The Panthers, competing for the third time in five years at the Bulldogs' annual event, shot a second round 302 after opening the event with a 311 Friday. Despite Georgia State's improvement, the team was unable to rise in the rankings among the 23 talented teams, 12 of which possess a top-25 ranking.
Veering from the normal collegiate play, the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic is scoring using the best-ball format in which all five golfers from Georgia State play together on every hole. This unique arrangement counts each team's low score holes from each hole during the round, not the low four scores of the day.
Lorentzen once again filled her role as the Panthers' top individual, collecting two birdies to four bogeys on her way to a second round 74 after an opening round 77. The junior jumped 23 spots on the leader board to enter the final 18 holes in the top 20 with a share of 19th place.
After carding a career-low first round 77 Friday, freshman Solveig Helgesen shot a 6-over 78 during day two and stands in a tie for 51st place with 18 holes to play.
Junior Charlotte Guilleux increased her first round score by two strokes, firing a 9-over 81 Saturday. The St. Maur De Fosses, France native enters the final round of competition in a tie for 92nd place.
Freshman Laura Sanchez bettered her opening round score by four strokes, shooting 8-over 80 on day two. Redshirt-junior Cherishton Brett also found improvement in the second round with an 83, 10 shots lower than her score Friday.
Alabama, the second-best team in the country, overtook the top spot on the leader board with a second round 291. The Crimson Tide holds a four-stroke margin ahead of Friday's leader, No. 5 Purdue. Host and No. 13 Georgia remains in third place at 9-over, followed by No. 4 Duke at 11-over and Notre Dame one stroke behind the Blue Devils, rounding out the top five.
Numa Gulyanamitta of Purdue rose from third place to lead the individuals with a second round 71 and stands at even par entering the final round. Georgia's Marta Silva Zamora and Arkansas's Emily Tubert stand in a tie for second place one stroke back from the leader followed by Stephanie Meadow of Alabama in fourth place at 1-over. In a four-way tie for fifth place at 3-over are Alabama's Brooke Pancake, Florida State's Hannah Thomson, Ohio State's Amy Meier and Florida's Isabelle Lendi.
Georgia State will conclude the tournament Sunday with a 9 a.m. shotgun start. Live stats are available via GolfStat.com. Full recaps of each round will be posted at GeorgiaStateSports.com when play concludes for the day.
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