Ortengren helps Stanford take over team lead after two rounds of NCAA Championship at La Costa

 

   They switched places Saturday with No. 1 Stanford, the Atlantic Coast Conference champion, taking over the top spot while No. 2 Southern California, the Big Ten champion, dropped to second place, three shots behind the Cardinal at the halfway point of qualifying for match play in the NCAA Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s North Course in Carlsbad, Calif.

   As a fan, you’d like to see it stay that way because it would mean the top two teams in Division I women’s college golf, the old Pac-12 rivals, would only be able to meet in the Final Match.

   But, trust me, the coaches and players are just doing whatever they can to make sure they land somewhere, anywhere among the eight teams when the match-play bracket is set at the conclusion of 72 holes of stroke play Monday evening.

   There will be a cut to the top 15 teams following Sunday’s third round with those survivors battling it out Monday for those eight spots in the match-play bracket. Match play gets under way Tuesday.

   Led by Meja Ortengren, a sophomore from Sweden and No. 6 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), Stanford carded a second straight 6-under-par 282 over the 6,330-yard, par-72 La Costa North Course layout for a 12-under 564 total.

   Ortengren, who had opened with a 2-under 70, added a 4-under 68 in Saturday’s second round to get a share of first place in the individual standings with Texas’ Farah O’Keefe, a junior home girl from Austin, Texas and No. 4 in the Women’s WAGR, and another talented Swede, Mississippi sophomore Kajsalotta Svarvar, No. 66 in the Women’s WAGR, each landing on 6-under 138.

   Stanford senior Megha Ganne, the reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion from Holmdel, N.J. and No. 10 in the Women’s WAGR, was right behind her teammate Ortengren in the individual standings in a tie for fourth place with Arizona State’s Beth Coulter, a senior from Ireland, and TCU’s Kirstin Angosta, a junior from Las Vegas, Nev., each ending up at 5-under 139.

   Ganne, who had grabbed a share of the individual lead with an opening round 4-under 68, added a 1-under 71 in Saturday’s second round.

   Southern Cal had taken the lead in the team chase with a 7-under 281 in the opening round and the Trojans added a 2-under 286 in Saturday’s second round that left them three shots behind Stanford with a 9-under 567 total.

   Big 12 power Oklahoma State, No. 21 in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings, was two shots behind Southern Cal in third place with a 7-under 569 total.

   The Cowgirls, behind Marta Silchenko, a junior from Latvia and No. 47 in the Women’s WAGR, added a 2-under 286 in Saturday’s second round to their opening-round 283.

   Silchenko signed for a second straight 2-under 70 to join a group of five players tied for seventh place in the individual standings with a 4-under 140 total.

   Iowa State, continuing to validate its victory in the Big 12 Championship, and Southeastern Conference power Arkansas were another seven shots behind Oklahoma State in a tie for fourth place at even-par 576.

   The Cyclones, No. 17 in the Scoreboard rankings, had opened with a 4-under 284, but backed off a little with a 4-over 292 in Saturday’s second round.

   The Razorbacks, No. 7 in the Scoreboard rankings, added a 2-over 290 in Saturday’s second round to their opening round of 2-under 286.

   Arkansas was led by reigning NCAA individual champion and winner of last month’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship Marie Jose Marin, a junior from Colombia and No. 5 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Jose Marin, who had matched par in the opening round with a 72, moved up the leaderboard with a 4-under 68 that left her in the group tied for seventh place at 4-under. She can be very tough when she gets the scent.

   A couple of Stanford’s ACC rivals, SMU, which fell to the Cardinal in the ACC’s match-play final, and Duke and its seven national championships, were tied for sixth place, a shot behind Iowa State and Arkansas with a 1-over 577 total.

   The Mustangs, No. 16 in the Scoreboard rankings, had matched par in the opening round with a 288 and added a 1-over 289 in Saturday’s second round. The Blue Devils, No. 10 in the Scoreboard rankings, shaved five shots off their opening round of 3-over 291 with a solid 2-under 286.

   The SEC’s Texas, No. 5 in the Scoreboard rankings, was a shot behind SMU and Duke in eighth place with a 2-over 578 total after adding a 2-over 290 in Saturday’s second round to its opening round of even-par 288.

   The Longhorns, coming off a dominant victory in the Chapel Hill Regional, were led by O’Keefe as she recorded a second straight 3-under 69 to gain a share of the individual lead at 6-under.

   Gritty Eastern Michigan, the Mid-American Conference runnerup, and Arizona State, another Big 12 entry, rounded out the top 10 in the Scoreboard rankings as each was three shots behind Texas in a tie for eighth place with a 5-over 281 total.

   The Eagles, No. 27 in the Scoreboard rankings, had opened with a 2-under 286, but fell back a little with a 7-over 295. The Sun Devils, No. 23 in the Scoreboard rankings, added a 4-over 292 to their opening round of 1-over 289.

   Backing up Ortengren and Ganne for Stanford was Paula Martin Sampedro, a junior from Spain and No. 2 in the Women’s WAGR, as she was in the group tied for 27^th place at even-par 144.

   Martin Sampedro, the reigning Royal & Ancient Women’s Amateur champion, added a 1-under 71 in Saturday’s second round to her opening round of 2-over 74.

   Kelly Xu, a senior from Claremont, Calif. and No. 17 in the Women’s WAGR, was among the group tied for 46^th place with a 2-over 146 total for Stanford. Xu had opened with a 1-under 71, but struggled a little with a 3-over 75 in Saturday’s second round.

   Xu recently learned that she will join Texas’ O’Keefe on the United States Curtis Cup team when it takes on Great Britain & Ireland next month at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif.

   Rounding out the Stanford lineup was Andrea Revuelta, a sophomore from Spain and No. 3 in the Women’s WAGR as she matched par in Saturday’s second round with a 72 after opening with a 3-over 75 and was in the group tied for 64^th place with a 3-over 147 total.

   Ole Miss’ Svarvar continued her solid postseason as she posted a second straight 3-under 69 to join Stanford’s Ortengren and Texas’ O’Keefe in a tie atop the individual leaderboard at 6-under.

   Arizona State’s Coulter, who will be representing GB&I in the Curtis Cup Match next month at Bel-Air, added a 2-under 70 in Saturday’s second round to her opening-round 69 to get her share of fourth place at 5-under.

   TCU’s Angosta, competing as an individual, had the same splits, adding a 2-under 70 in Saturday’s second round to an opening-round 69 to join Stanford’s Ganne and Arizona State’s Coulter in the trio tied for fourth place at 5-under.

   Princeton’s Thanana Kotchasanmanee, a freshman from Thailand and No. 98 in the Women’s WAGR, continued her strong postseason run while competing as an individual.

   Kotchasanmanee, who shared medalist honors with Oklahoma State’s Livchenko in the Chapel Hill Regional, added a 1-under 71 in Saturday’s second round to her opening-round 69 to join the group tied for seventh place at 4-under.

   Rounding out that quintet tied for seventh place at 4-under were Tennessee’s Kyra Van Kan, a sophomore from South Africa, and Florida’s Siuue, a sophomore from Hong Kong.

   Van Kan, one of the heroes of the Volunteers’ run to the SEC crown, added a 1-under 71 in Saturday’s second round to her opening-round 69. Siuue had opened with a 4-over 76, but erupted with the round of the championship through two days, a sizzling 8-under 64, in Saturday’s second round.

   Avery McCrery, a freshman from Wilmington, Del. whose scholastic career began at the Tower Hill School, continued to be solid for Duke in her debut in the NCAA Championship.

   McCrery added a 2-over 74 in Saturday’s second round to her opening round of 1-under 71 and was among the group tied for 38^th place with a 1-over 145 total as the Blue Devils climbed into contention for one of the spots in the match-play bracket.

   Katie Li, a junior from Basking Ridge, N.J., was also solid for Duke as she registered a second straight 1-over 73 and was in the group tied for 46^th place at 2-over 146.

   Also representing the Garden State at La Costa was Meghan Meng, a sophomore for defending national champion Northwestern who was a scholastic standout at Hopewell Valley Central in Pennington.

   Meng added a 4-over 76 in Saturday’s second round after matching par in the opening round with a 72 and was among the group tied for 81^st place with a 4-over 148 total.