DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Tere were two certainties on Wednesday at the LPGA International Legends course: the wind would once again blow and at least one team would make a move. Steady winds between 15 and 25 mph swirled around the course, as conditions were nearly as difficult as they were on Day 1.
And yes, one team did make a big move upward, and surprise, surprise; it was the group from Durham, N.C. Duke posted the only sub-par round of the day, and championship to this point. A team total of 287, 1 under par, vaulted the Blue Devils to the top of the leaderboard through 36 holes. The two-time defending National champions are very familiar and quite comfortable with this position. You can make the analogy to Tiger Woods ' when he has the lead through two rounds, he is tough to catch. Duke, too, will be difficult to chase down.
But lets not hand over the trophy just yet. UCLA also had a solid Wednesday performance, as they are the closest pursuers. The Bruins last won the championship just three years ago, but dont tell them that this thing is over. A 3-over-par round has placed the folks from L.A. just seven back, and certainly within reach of making things interesting.
urdue is in third, a full 10 shots behind Duke, while first-leader Southern Cal had their problems in the second round, posting a team score of 306, and now finds themselves 14 off the pace.
Individually, Purdue sophomore Christel Boeljon leads after a second-round 69. She stands at 3 under par through 36 holes. Stacy Lewis from Arkansas is one off the lead after her second consecutive 71.
Thursday is the day for one of two things to occur. Either Duke puts a strangle hold on this years championship, or a team giving chase makes a patented third-round charge which would set up some final-day fireworks.
Team Results:
1 Duke 300 287 587 +11
2 UCLA 303 291 594 +18
3 Purdue 303 294 597 +21
4 Stanford 299 300 599 +23
5 Southern California 295 306 601 +25
6 Georgia 303 299 602 +26
7 Louisville, Univ. of 297 306 603 +27
T8 Pepperdine 306 299 605 +29
T8 Vanderbilt 303 302 605 +29
T8 Arizona State 307 298 605 +29
T11 TCU 307 299 606 +30
T11 Wake Forest 306 300 606 +30
13 Oklahoma State 312 299 611 +35
14 Auburn 309 304 613 +37
15 Brigham Young Univ. 309 306 615 +39
T16 Michigan State 310 307 617 +41
T16 UC Irvine 303 314 617 +41
T18 North Carolina 297 321 618 +42
T18 Arizona 304 314 618 +42
20 New Mexico 305 314 619 +43
21 Tennessee 311 313 624 +48
22 Denver, Univ. of 302 324 626 +50
23 Alabama, U. of 314 319 633 +57
24 Indiana University 320 318 638 +62
Individual Results (Top 10):
1 Christel Boeljon Purdue 72 69 141 -3
2 Stacy Lewis Arkansas, U. of 71 71 142 -2
T3 Amanda Blumenherst Duke 70 73 143 -1
T3 Catherine Matranga TCU 72 71 143 -1
T3 Tiffany Joh UCLA 73 70 143 -1
T6 Lauren Todd Stanford 70 74 144 E
T6 Jacqui Concolino Vanderbilt 75 69 144 E
T8 Paola Moreno Southern California 73 72 145 +1
T8 Anna Nordqvist Arizona State 75 70 145 +1
T10 Jennie Lee Duke 76 72 148 +4
T10 Taylor Leon Georgia 74 74 148 +4
T10 Rachel Newren Brigham Young Univ. 77 71 148 +4
T10 Caroline Westrup Florida State Univ. 74 74 148 +4
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