It's not over yet

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – It rained. It hailed. It was cold and windy but the eighth-ranked University of Arkansas women’s golf team prevailed finishing strong at the 2008 NCAA Golf Championship in Albuquerque, N.M. After more than 15 hours at the University of New Mexico Golf Course, the Lady Razorbacks find themselves in sixth place just five strokes from third place as the third round was suspended in the dark Thursday. Arkansas players had two holes remaining when the horn blew. Junior Lucy Nunn stepped up with a team-best one-under in the third round after battling in the completion of round two. Nunn posted a season-best 71 that included birdies on two, three and 18 after starting on the fifth hole. Nunn’s tee shot off of the second hole missed six inches to the right of the par three after she hit a five wood into the wind. She tapped in for the bird. Despite the conditions, senior Stacy Lewis remains in the top 10 and in contention in defense of her national title. Lewis is seventh overall but has two holes remaining. Another highlight on the day was sophomore Alex Schulte’s eagle on her final hole. Schulte was nine-over with one to play, while freshman Kelli Shean was plus five although her round was not complete. “Holy cow!” said Arkansas head coach Shauna Estes-Taylor. “I’ve never been at a golf course this long in my life. We’ve been her almost 16 hours. This was just hard. We tried to pump up the girls in the last couple of holes. We gave them sandwiches and drinks and told them to keep pushing. We train and condition hard and that is for days like this.” With no final scores to report as teams are not yet complete for the third round, places are up in the air. Arkansas has the fifth-best score to date. The round will be completed in the morning and teams will be re-seeded for the final round. Arkansas will likely play two holes in the morning, break until after noon and finish Friday night. “Ya know, we’re going back to the hotel, get some rest and just handle whatever Friday throws at us,” said Estes-Taylor. “We want to finish strong and move up the leader board.” Arkansas and 11 other teams in the 24-team field had the unenviable task of finishing their second round Thursday morning after severe winds postponed play Wednesday. The Lady’Backs finished the round with some players logging 12 holes before the tournament was re-paired for the next session. Teams were supposed to play in groups of four beginning at 1:30 p.m., but weather delayed the start. Once the round started it was stopped for more than an hour with lightning as players were pulled from the course but remained near their holes in buses and vans. Play continued with temps dipping into the high 40s with stiff winds and dark skies looming. Arkansas finished after 9:30 p.m. central with one of the better rounds of the day emerging as the top Southeastern Conference school heading into the final round. Second-ranked Southern California leads the field and was 13-over through two complete rounds. Third-ranked UCLA remains in second followed by No. 4 Arkansas State, No. 9 Denver and No. 23 Texas A&M to round out the top five (third rounds not complete). Arkansas is unofficially sixth two strokes better than No. 5 Florida, No. 1 Duke, No. 7 Georgia and No. 14 Wake Forest who round out the top five. For more information regarding Razorback women’s golf or University of Arkansas athletics please visit www.LADYBACKS.com.