WEST POINT, MISS. – Senior Laura Sanchez tied a career-low with a 1-under 71 to lead Georgia State to a second-round 298 at the Old Waverly Bulldog Invitational Tuesday. The Panthers are tied for third of 11 teams at 15-over par with one round to play at the Old Waverly Country Club.
Sanchez played a near-perfect round making three birdies and no bogeys, before an unfortunate double-bogey at the 18th. It marked the fourth time in her career shooting a 71, most recently at the 2012 Golfweek Conference Challenge. Entering the final round, she is tied for fifth at 1-under par.
Georgia State has three golfers among the top 20 following an opening round 293 on Monday which was the squads lowest in more than a year.
“We struggled a little with our putting today, but held it together, which is something we might not have done in the past,” head coach Cathy Mant said. “Overall, we played well and everyone on the team is playing solid golf and hitting a lot of great shots. I still think that there is an opportunity to go really low for this group. At the end of the day, I love the direction that we are going.”
Senior Maria Palacios continued her improved play with a second-round 74 and is tied for 13th. Palacios made a pair of birdies on the front nine to shoot a 1-under 35 and is now 3-over thru 36 holes.
Junior Lauren Court shot a second-round 78 and is tied for 19th at 5-over par. Court entered the event coming off of a career-best finish a week ago and shot a career-low 71 on Monday.
Senior Melissa Siviter shot a second-round 75 and is now tied for 28th at 8-over. Siviter made a pair of birdies in her round and is now just 1-over for her last 27-holes after finishing strong on Monday.
Sophomore Julie Lied stands tied for 43rd following a second-round 78. Lied is 13-over with one-round to play.
Host Mississippi State shot an even-par 288 in the second round to remain at 7-under and has a 10-stroke lead entering the final round. East Carolina stands in second at 3-over, followed by Georgia State and Florida International tied for third at 15-over. East Tennessee State is fifth at 18-over.
Mississippi State teammates Jessica Peng and Ally McDonald are one-two atop the leaderboard. Peng stands at 5-under following a second-round 70, while McDonald is just one-stroke back at 4-under. East Carolina's Katie Kirk is third at 3-under, followed by teammate Nico Engstroem at 2-under. Sanchez is tied with South Florida's Nicole Autrique for fifth at 1-under.
Old Waverly has hosted numerous events on its championship course, including the 1999 U.S. Women's Open. Old Waverly has also hosted the men's and women's SEC Championship, Southern Golf Association Women's and Junior Championships and the 2006 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship.
Designed by U.S. Open winner Jerry Pate and Bob Cupp, the course has been named to Golfweek's Top 100, Golf Digest's Top Course in Mississippi and Golf Digest's Top 100 courses. For "The Waverly," the course will play at 6,113 yards.
The teams will have a shotgun start on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. Georgia State will be paired with East Tennessee State and South Alabama.
Live stats and post-round results will be available on HailState.com as well as BirdieFire.com.
Following this week's action, Georgia State will return to the course Oct. 7-8 at the Lady Pirate Intercollegiate hosted by East Carolina. It will mark the third-straight year and fifth time in the last six that the Panthers have played in the event in Greenville, N.C.
