ST. GEORGE, Utah – The winds died and the scores came alive Friday at the NCAA St. George Regional Championships, with Stanford moving from fifth to second in the team race. The Cardinal women’s golf team matched top-ranked USC’s 8-over on the day for second-round honors, aided largely in part to Shannon Aubert’s 2-under par 69.
Aubert’s red score was Stanford’s first of the three-day, 54-hole event which ends Saturday. The top six teams will advance to the NCAA Championships.
Stanford was 12 shots better than its opening round and 28-over through 36 holes, five strokes clear of third-place Cal. USC paces the 18-team regional at 17-over.
“We had very little wind today, while yesterday it got up to 25 miles per hour on extremely difficult holes,” said Anne Walker, Stanford’s Margot and Mitch Milias Director of Women’s Golf. “We also had a lot of rain overnight, so the greens were a bit more receptive today. We played well and stuck to our plan, which is a must on this golf course. I’m proud of our team. They played hard.”
Aubert carded four birdies against two bogeys on the par-71 layout of Entrada at Snow Canyon. Aubert, tied for second among individuals at 2-over, is joined in the top 10 by Casey Danielson. Danielson is tied for sixth after her 4-over 75.
Lauren Kim drained three birdies en route to a 3-over 74, a score matched by Quirine Eijkenboom. Eijkenboom was eight shots better than her opening round, and Mariah Stackhouse was seven shots better than first 18 with a 5-over 76.
Stanford will be grouped with USC and Cal during Saturday’s finale, which begins at 8:39 a.m. (PT). Live results will be available at GoStanford.com.