May 10, 2002

EAST LANSING, Mich - Baylor's women's golf team is currently in eighth place after the second round of the NCAA Central Regional Tournament hosted by Michigan State. The Bears shot a second-round 318 (309-318=627, 51 strokes over par) to drop from yesterday's third place standing. The tournament is being held at the Forest Akers Golf Course in East Lansing.

The Bears, ranked 32nd nationally by Golfstat, are led by sophomore Melanie Hagewood who shot an opening round two-under-par 70 and a second round 78 (148). She is currently tied for first place with Martina Gillen of Kent State and Stacy Prammanasudh of Tulsa.

Rounding out the individual scoring for the Bears are sophomore Kelli McKandless who opened with a 79 and shot 77 (156) Friday to tie her at 13th. Senior Tara Bateman is tied for 50th after posting scores of 80-82 (162). Fellow senior Nicole Johnson carded 80-82 (162) and is also tied for 50th. Junior Hanna-Sofia Svenningsson shot 86-81 (167) to tie her for 77th.

Baylor must maintain their eighth place status in order to qualify to play in the NCAA Championship Tournament. The top eight finishers in each region will advance to the tournament to be hosted by Washington at the Washington National Golf Course in Auburn, Wash.

Kent State is tied for the first place spot after posting 304-317 (621) with Ohio State (311-310=621), followed by Purdue (309-314=623), Tulsa (315-309=624) and Oklahoma State (306-319) is tied with Oklahoma (319-306) after both teams posted 625.

The Bears finished in the top five of 11 tournaments this season including a win at the Price's Give 'Em Five in October and the 2001 Islander Fall Classic in November. At last years Central Regional, the Bears also shot an opening round 309.