April 19, 2008

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Northwestern remains in the hunt entering the final round of the 28th-annual Lady Buckeye Invitational as the Wildcats shoot a plus-31 607 (304-303) through the first two rounds. NU sits just four strokes back of second-place Ohio State with 18 holes remaining.

Senior Katie Trachok (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) and junior Jennifer Hong (Windermere, Fla./The First Academy) both shot a plus-six 150 and are tied for seventh in the individual results. Hong carded a pair of 75s on the afternoon while Trachok shot a 76-74 to pull even with her teammate. Senior Brittany Johnston (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) is playing well in her home state as she is just one stroke back of her teammates at plus-seven (74-77) and is in sole possession of 10th-place.

Freshman Rebecca Lederhausen (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) remains in the hunt for a top-10 finish as well, shooting a plus-12 156 (79-77) to put her in a tie for 17th. Fellow freshman Kelsey Lindenschmidt (West Chester, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) finished the day in 50th-place with a plus-21 165 (80-85) while senior Justina Yu (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman) shot a plus-22 166 (82-84) to round out the scoring for the `Cats.

Northwestern found itself in fourth place after round one, but used its 303 in round two to leap-frog Michigan State in the standings. Kent State leads the field of 12 after shooting two sub-300 rounds and enters the final day at plus-17 (294-299). The Spartans are in fourth behind the Buckeyes and Wildcats at plus-37 613 (303-310) while Wisconsin rounds out the top-five at plus-45 621 (310-311).

The `Cats are looking to improve off last season's sixth-place finish, and need a solid effort in the final round to keep their NCAA postseason hopes alive. NU's overall record is 53-62-1 (.461), and need to finish with a winning percentage above .500 to qualify for the NCAA tournament. Sunday's final round gets underway at 8:30 a.m. and live scoring is available at golfstat.com.