Wolf Pack plays second round at NAIA Championship

SILVIS, Ill. – The Loyola University New Orleans women's golf team improved its standing on the team leaderboard during Wednesday's second round at the NAIA National Championship. The 12th-ranked Wolf Pack is now 13th out of the 30 competing teams, making the Top 17 cut to guarantee 36 more holes at the national competition. 
 

Loyola's 628 (+60) score is just five strokes from the Top 10 and 12 strokes out of the Top 5, too. Blair McKenzie leads the Wolf Pack in a tie for 13th place (+10), and she's two strokes from the Top 10 of the individual leaderboard after jumping up 16 spots on Wednesday. Emma Smithers is next in a tie for 30th (+13), followed by Lainey Cristan tied for 48th (+16). Catherine Singletary (T80th, +21) and Daniella Salazar (T109th, +27) are next on the leaderboard. 
 

All five Wolf Pack golfers started the second round on the 10th tee. 
 

McKenzie started off her day well, scoring a par on her first four holes before moving to 1-over on the par 4, 14th hole - her fifth hole of the day. She answered that bogey with back-to-back birdies, including a near-ace on the par 3, 16th - her seven hole of the day - to move to 1-under on the day. The sophomore would go on to finish her first nine holes 1-over with consecutive bogeys. The Madisonville, Louisiana, native had five straight pars to start her second nine, but three bogeys during the final four holes brought McKenzie to her 75 (+4) score. 
 

Smithers was 1-over after her first three holes of the day, then a birdie-triple bogey-birdie on her next three holes brought her to 2-over. She finished her first nine holes 4-over before recording a birdie on her 11th hole of the day - the par 5, second - making her 3-over for her second round. A bogey on the 14th and 18th holes, as well as a double bogey on the 16th, gave the Ellisville, Mississippi, native her 78 (+7) score. 
 

Cristan made the biggest move on the leaderboard among Wolf Pack golfers, ascending 41 spots after her second round. The Lubbock, Texas, native was 4-over at the turn, carding pars on four of the final five holes of the first nine holes. Back-to-back-to-back pars started her second nine, too, then Cristan had three pars, two bogeys and a birdie down the stretch to make it a 76 (+5) on the sophomore's scorecard. 
 

Singletary had a double bogey on her third hole of the second round, but she had a birdie on the par 4, 15th - her sixth hole of the day. Back-to-back bogeys on her seventh and eighth holes, and a par on the final hole of the first nine, made the freshman 3-over making the turn. However, the freshman was 8-over during her final nine holes to score a second-round 82 (+11). Salazar overcame three consecutive double bogeys on her second, third and fourth holes of the second round by tallying five pars during the last five holes of her first nine to right the ship a little. The senior had a 10-over back nine to bring her to an 87 (+16) score. 

The third round begins for the Wolf Pack on Thursday at 9:24 a.m. 
 

Women's Team Leaderboard

1. #3 Keiser – Round 1: 297 | Round 2: 307 | Total: 604 (+23)
2. #1 British Columbia – Round 1: 293 | Round 2: 312 | Total: 605 (+37)
3. #4 Oklahoma City – Round 1: 303 | Round 2: 310 | Total: 613 (+45)
13. #12 Loyola – Round 1: 317 | Round 2: 311 | Total: 628 (+60)

Women's Individual Leaderboard

T1. Hannah Ulibarri (Master's) – Round 1: 71 | Round 2: 74 | Total: 145 (+3)
T1. Sydney Hermann (Dalton State) – Round 1: 73 | Round 2: 72 | Total: 145 (+3)
3. Makayla Tyrell (Oklahoma City) – Round 1: 71 | Round 2: 75 | Total: 146 (+4)
 

Loyola Women's Leaderboard

T13. Blair McKenzie – Round 1: 77 | Round 2: 75 | Total: 152 (+10)
T30. Emma Smithers – Round 1: 77 | Round 2: 78 | Total: 155 (+13)
T48. Lainey Cristan – Round 1: 82 | Round 2: 76 | Total: 158 (+16)
T80. Catherine Singletary – Round 1: 81 | Round 2: 82 | Total: 163 (+21)
T109. Daniella Salazar – Round 1: 82 | Round 2: 87 | Total: 169 (+27)
 

You can keep up with the Pack by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.