May 7, 2004

HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. - Freshman Mary Ellen Jacobs and senior Carolin Landmann shot four-over par 76s and the Green Wave fired a team 313 as the Tulane University women's golf team finished day two of the NCAA East Regional tied for 10th at the par-72, 6,165-yard Mission Inn Golf and Tennis Resort Friday afternoon.

Tulane entered the day in fourth place after shooting a plus-13 301 on Thursday, but the Green Wave tallied just three birdies on the day and wound up with a two-day, 38-over par 614 to finish just two strokes behind eighth-placed Furman (312-300=612) and six behind seventh-placed Florida State (310-297=607). The top eight finishers in the 21-team regional advance to the 2004 NCAA Championship on May 18-22 at the Grand National Lake Course in Opelika, Ala.

"We took a step in the wrong direction today, there's no doubt about that," head coach Sue Bower said. "That's the bad news. The good news is that we're only two strokes away from a top-eight finish, and I'm confident that we can bounce back from this and make a run for nationals tomorrow.

"It was one of those days where nothing seemed to go right for us. We just have to put this one behind us, regain our composure, and come out tomorrow focused and play the way we did on Thursday. It will be a challenge, but this team has bounced back from rounds like this before, and I don't see why we can't do it again on Saturday."

Sophomore Liliana Alvarez, who finished the first round tied for second with a two-under par 70, shot a 79 on Friday and finished the day tied with Jacobs (73-76) and two other golfers for 17th overall with five-over par 149s. Landmann, meanwhile, trimmed three strokes off her first-round score to conclude the day two of the Regional tied for 43rd with a plus-11, 155 (79-76).

Junior Lindsay Hulwick was the other scorer on Friday for the Green Wave with a 10-over par 82 to finish the day tied for 76th with a plus-18 162, and fellow third-year player Alexis Wooster shot an 84 in the second round to go into the clubhouse tied for 79th with a 163 (79-84).

Duke leads the field of 21 with a two-over par 578 after shooting a plus-four 292 on Friday, and UNLV is solidly in second place with a two-day total of 594 after firing its second consecutive 297 (nine-over par). North Carolina's Meaghan Francella holds a three-stroke lead in the individual race after shooting a one-under par 71 on Friday to give her a four-under 140 for the tournament.

Tulane was one of three Louisiana teams to participate in the East Regional as LSU concluded the day 13th with a 48-over par 624 while Southern stands at No. 19 with a plus-86, 662. The Green Wave were also one of three Conference USA teams to play in the NCAA postseason as TCU finished tied for 13th in the Central Regional at the University Golf Course in Normal, Ill., with two-day, 627 (308-319), and East Carolina's Adrienne Millican finished tied for 13th with a four-over par 148 (76-72) participating as an individual in the East Regional.

The Regionals conclude on Saturday with the first teams teeing off at 8 a.m. Tulane will hit the links on hole No. 10 with Wooster teeing off at 9 a.m. Hulwick, Lanmann, Jacobs and Alvarez will follow in 10-minute increments, respectively.

Golf fans can follow all of the action live on the internet with live stats provided through the official website of Tulane Athletics, www.tulanegreenwave.com, or by logging on to www.GolfStat.com.

Team Scores: 1. Duke 286-292=578 (+2); 2. UNLV 297-297=594 (+18); 3. North Carolina 303-294=597 (+21); 4. Florida 310-295=605 (+29); T5. Oklahoma State 298-309=607 (+31), Wake Forest 310-297=607 (+31); 7. Florida State 308-300=608 (+32); 8. Furman 312-300=612 (+36); 9. Tennessee 307-306=613 (+37); T10. Auburn 302-312=614 (+38), Tulane 301-313=614 (+38); 12. Miami 309-310=619 (+43); 13. LSU 309-310=619 (+48); 14. Alabama 311-318=629 (+53); 15. Campbell 319-312=631 (+55); 16. North Carolina State 316-317=633 (+57); 17. South Carolina 316-320=636 (+60); 18. UNC-Wilmington 320-317=637 (+61); 19. Southern 337-325=662 (+325); 20. Mississippi 338-326=664 (+88); 21. St. Francis (Pa.) 338-341=679 (+103).

Individual Leaders: 1. Meaghan Francella (North Carolina) 69-71=140 (-4); T2. Leigh Anne Hardin (Duke) 71-72=143 (-1), Brittany Lang (Duke) 71-72=143 (-1); T4. Deborah Means (Wake Forest) 75-70=145 (+1), Sunny Oh (UNLV) 72-73=145 (+1), Ashley Prange (North Carolina) 74-71=145 (+1), Karin Sjorin (Okalahoma State) 70-75=145 (+1), Jenny Suh (Furman) 75-70=145 (+1).

Tulane Scores: T17. Liliana Alvarez 70-79=149 (+5), Mary Ellen Jacobs 73-76=149 (+5); T43. Carolin Landmann 79-76=155 (+11); T76. Lindsay Hulwick 80-82=162 (+18); T79. Alexis Wooster 79-84=163 (+19).