What You Need to Know:
* Georgia State sits ninth following two rounds of the 23rd annual John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate at Eagle's Landing Country Club in Stockbridge, Ga.
* Freshman Jemima Gregson led the Panthers with a second-round 71 and is in a tie for 14th entering the final round on Tuesday.
* The event is free and open to the public. The final round will be played with a shotgun start at 9 a.m.
STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. – The Georgia State women's golf team improved by 11 strokes and shot a second round 303 to sit ninth at the 23rd annual John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate at Eagle's Landing Country Club on Monday. Freshman Jemima Gregson led the Panthers with a 1-under 71 to jump 32 spots and into a tie for 14th.
Elon will enter the final round on Tuesday with a six stroke lead over Western Michigan following a 9-over 297. The Phoenix are 14-over thru 36 holes with WMU standing at 20-over. Western Kentucky is third at 21-over, while Western Carolina and Florida Gulf Coast are tied for fourth at 26-over.
CSU Fullerton's Martina Edberg, ranked No. 91 in the country, shot a 2-under 70 on Monday to move into the lead at 2-under. Elon's Kelsey Badmaev sits second at 1-under, followed by Western Michigan's Claire Hernandez in third at 1-over. UAB's Sydney Snodgress is fourth at 2-over with Western Kentucky's Georgina Blackman rounding out the top five at 3-over.
The John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate is the lone home tournament on Georgia State's schedule and is open to the public. Eagle's Landing Country Club is located off Exit 224 on I-75.
“I was happy to see our team greatly improve today,” head coach Cathy Mant said. “Jemima showed her mental toughness after a tough stretch of holes, rebounded and played great on her second nine. I hope we can use that as momentum going into the final round on Tuesday.”
After three straight bogeys just before the turn, Gregson responded with three birdies on her second nine and sits at 6-over thru 36 holes.
Junior Jooeun Bae shot a second round 80 and sits at 11-over and alone in 37th, while Solene LeCoz added a 77 and is 12-over and tied for 38th entering the final round. Sophomore Yasemin Sari added an 80 and is 17-over and tied for 57th. Senior Julie Lied had one of the biggest turnarounds, improving by 12 strokes from round one with a 3-over 75 and is tied for 63rd at 18-over.
Paula Zabarte, playing as an individual, shot a second round 75 and is tied for 21st at 7-over par.
Teams will utilize a 9 a.m., shotgun start for the final round on Tuesday. Georgia State will be paired with CSU Fullerton and South Alabama going off Holes No. 7-10.
Following this week's tournament, Georgia State will return to action April 17-19 for the Sun Belt Conference Championship in Miramar Beach, Fla., at The Raven Golf Club. The winner of the tournament will receive the league's automatic bid to NCAA Regional play.
