^{ORLANDO – The Georgia State women's golf team shot a second-round even par 288 to jump four spots in the standings in the UCF Challenge at Eagle Creek Golf Club entering the final round on Tuesday. The Panthers are tied for 10th at 12-over par, within striking distance of a top-five finish.}

^{Senior Maria Palacios led the Panthers with a 3-under 69, while fellow senior Laura Sanchez shot a second-round even par 72.}

^{Georgia State opened play with a round of 300 on Sunday, however, four of the five players in the line-up shot equal or better than their first round scores on Monday.}

^{“Maria started strong and played exceptionally well today,” head coach Cathy Mant said. “The entire team was able to get in a little practice the last couple of days in the warmer temperatures and it showed. They have some confidence going into the final round after their play today.}

^{“This is a strong field and I expect more than half of it will be in the NCAA Regionals in May. If we can beat some of the teams we are ahead of, it will help our ranking and I think be a great start to the spring.”}

^{Sanchez is currently tied for 28th at 2-over par following an opening around 74. The senior made three birdies during her second round.}

^{Freshman Solene Le Coz shot her second-straight 74 and is tied for 45th at 4-over. Le Coz also made three birdies during her second round.}

^{Palacios is one of two Panthers tied for 59th following her 3-under par round. The senior was 4-under before a bogey on her 14th hole of the day.}

^{She is tied with senior Melissa Siviter who shot a second-round 1-over 73. Siviter is coming off her first career win at the Palmetto Intercollegiate to end the fall.}

^{Junior Lauren Court rounded out the line-up with a second-round 79. Court is tied for 89th at 11-over par.}

No. 24 UCF is leading by two strokes, currently at 9-under par following a second-round 285. No. 33 Miami is second at 7-under, shooting a 6-under, 282 on Monday. No. 22 Iowa State is third at 3-under, followed by East Tennessee State in fourth at 2-under. No. 49 GRU Augusta rounds out the top-five in fifth at 3-over.

UCF's Fanny Cnops, ranked No. 71 in the nation, has a one-stroke lead at 7-under entering the final round of play. She leads teammate Ashley Holder, ranked No. 68, by one stroke. GRU-Augusta's Casey Kennedy is in third at 5-under. A trio of golfers is tied for fourth at 4-under, including East Tennessee State's Sian Evans, SMU's Jenny Haglund and Miami's Leticia Ras-Anderica.

Georgia State is making its fifth-straight appearance at the event in Orlando, finishing as high as second in 2010.

The normally strong field includes eight teams currently ranked in the top-50 in GolfStat.

Live scoring of the third round will be available at Golfstat.com.

Following this week's action, Georgia State will be back in action March 14-16 at the JMU Eagle Landing Invitational in Orange Park, Fla.

www.GeorgiaStateSports.com