Darquea Cracks Top 10 at Central Regional

STILLWATER, Okla. – Miami freshman All-ACC golfer Daniela Darquea moved into the top 10 after a second-round 70 Friday at the NCAA Central Regional. The 28th-ranked Hurricanes managed to move up three spots to 18th after shooting a 297 as a team, bettering their first-round tally by 21 strokes.

Through 36 holes, the Hurricanes sit at 39-over 615, but they are still 19 strokes behind one of the coveted top-eight positions that would on to the NCAA Championship later this month.

No. 3 UCLA overpowered first-round co-leaders Cal and Alabama to take a one-stroke lead on the field at 12-over 588. Cal is in second at 13-over 589, Alabama and Florida are tied for third at 16-over 592, and Ohio State is fifth at 17-over 593.

Individually, Kent State’s Wad Phaewchimplee still leads, holding a four-stroke advantage at 6-under 138. Only nine golfers are even par or better after 36 holes.

At 1-over 145, Darquea is two strokes out of the top five and seven behind the leader. The freshman enters the final round with a chance to challenge for one of the two individual spots that would advance to the NCAA Championship.

“Today was much better, but yesterday pretty much shut us out of it,” head coach Patti Rizzo said. “We made a slight move upwards today that helped, but we need lots of one putts Saturday to even get close.

“Everyone has to shoot under par which is not easy on this course,” Rizzo said. “I know our players are giving it their best on every shot and I can’t ask for more than that.”

Freshman Delfina Acosta carded Miami’s second-best score Friday with an even-par 72 and is tied for 20th at 3-over 147. Junior Rika Park shot a second-round 77 and is 17-over through 36 holes. Kailey Walsh shot a 6-over 78 Friday, while Christina Ocampo shot 10-over 82.

Play concludes Saturday at the NCAA Central Regional with the final round teeing off at 8:30 a.m. ET. The top eight teams and the top two individuals not on an advancing team will move on to the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship later this month in Tulsa. Live scoring will be available at www.golfstatresults.com.

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