Herr, Sims have Wake Forest tied for second at The Landfall Tradition

   Erica Herr, a two-time PIAA Class AAA champion at Council Rock North, carded a 1-under-par 71 at the Country Club of Landfall’s Pete Dye Course Friday to help her Wake Forest team, No. 13 in the latest Golfstat rankings, land in second place after Day 1 of The Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, N.C.

   Many of the top players from the District One and PIAA scene from the last few years are in the field at the Landfall.

   Herr, a junior, and Sierra Sims, a senior from Austin, Texas who matched Herr’s 71 over the 6,166-yard, par 72 Pete Dye Course layout, are in a group of eight players tied for fifth. They led the Demon Deacons to an even-par 288, four shots back of No. 24 Oklahoma, which carded a 4-under 284.

   The Sooners were led by Hannah Wood, a junior from Centennial, Colo. who grabbed the individual lead over a talented field with a 3-under 69. Teammate Valerie Tanguay, a junior from Canada, is a shot out of the lead with a 2-under 70.

   Oklahoma also got an even-par 72 from Julienne Soo, a sophomore from Australia who is tied for 13^th, a 1-over 73 from Ana Ruiz, a junior from Mexico who is tied for 19^th, and a 75 from Rylee Pedigo, a junior from Fort Worth, Texas who is tied for 37^th.

   No. 12 Purdue is alone in third place at 3-over 291. The Boilermakers have two of their sophomores – Ida Ayu Indira Melati Putri of Bali and Covadonga Sanjuan of Spain -- in the group tied for fifth at 1-under 71.

   Top-ranked Alabama and No. 17 Central Florida are tied for fourth at 5-over 293.

The Crimson Tide were led by Cheyenne Knight, a sophomore from Aledo, Texas who is tied for second with a 2-under 70, and Lauren Stephenson, a sophomore from Lexington, S.C. who is in the group tied for fifth at 1-under 71.

   Central Florida was led by Ashley Holder, a senior from Orlando, Fla. who is also in the group tied for fifth at 1-under 71.

   Joining Oklahoma’s Tanguay and Alabama’s Knight in the tie for second at 2-under 70 is South Carolina’s Ana Pelaez, a freshman from Spain.

   Rounding out the group tied for fifth at 1-under 71 are Michigan State’s Sarah Burnham, a junior from Maple Grove, Minn. and the defending individual champion at the Landfall, and Virginia’s Julia Ford, a freshman from Shrewsbury, Mass.

   It was a tough day for a North Carolina team that has risen to No. 16 in the Golfstat rankings with a strong fall campaign. But the Tar Heels find themselves in a tie for 10^th after an opening-round 300.

   North Carolina was led by Bryana Nguyen, a junior from Columbia, Md. who is tied for 13^th with an even-par 72, and Leslie Coots, a senior from Belgium who is tied for 19^th with a 1-over 73. Lexi Harkins, a junior from Crystal Lake, Ill., is tied for 55^th with a 77, freshman Brynn Walker, a two-time  PIAA Class AAA champion at Radnor, is tied for 69^th with a 78 and Kelly Whaley, a sophomore from Farmington, Conn. is tied for 85^th at 80.

   Notre Dame is also in the field at the Landfall and is tied for 13^th at 303. The Fighting Irish were led by Jordan Ferreira, a senior from University Place, Wash., and Emma Albrecht, a sophomore from Ormond Beach, Fla., both of whom are in the group tied for 37^th at 3-over 75.

   Sophomore Isabella DiLisio, who won the 2013 PIAA Class AAA championship – the one in between Erica Herr’s two and Walker’s two – as a junior at Mount St. Joseph, is tied for 48^th with a 76. Maddie Rose Hamilton, a sophomore from Louisville, Ky., is tied for 55^th with a 77 and Mia Ayer, a freshman from Waco, Texas is tied for 76^th with a 79.

   Denise St. Pierre’s Pennsylvania all-stars at Penn State struggled to a 309 total and are 17^th in the strong 18-team field.

   The Nittany Lions were led by freshman Madelein Herr, younger sister of Erica and the District One champion as a senior at Council Rock North a year ago. Herr, who partnered quite successfully with North Carolina’s Walker at the first two U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball championships, is in the group tied for 37^th with a 3-over 75.

   Sophomore Lauren Waller, a Canon-McMillan product who was the runnerup to Walker at the 2014 PIAA tourney, is tied for 55^th with a 77. Kate Granahan, a graduate student who starred at Parkland, is tied for 69^th with a 78. And sophomore Jackie Rogowicz, a two-time District One champion at Pennsbury, and sophomore Cara Basso, the 2012 PIAA Class AA champion as a sophomore at Villa Maria Academy, are in the group tied for 76^th, each carding a 79.