April 26, 2008

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Northwestern finished the third round of the Big Ten Championships where it started, sitting in seventh-place heading into the final 18 holes Sunday. NU put together its best round of the tournament thus far, shooting a 303 to sit at 52-over for the championships, six strokes behind Michigan and Wisconsin who are in a fifth-place tie at 46-over.

Freshman Kelsey Lindenschmidt (West Chester, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) continues to be the top 'Cat performer, shooting a 78 in round three to sit at 13-over 229 (75-76-78) and in a tie for 22nd-place. Junior Jennifer Hong is second for NU after a five-over 77 put her at 15-over 231 (78-76-77) and pulled her into a tie with teammate Rebecca Lederhausen (76-76-79) for 27th-place.

Senior Brittany Johnston (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) highlighted the day for Northwestern, shooting a one-over 73 to sit at 19-over 235 (77-85-73) through the first 54 holes. Senior Katie Trachok (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) is at 22-over 238 (84-79-75) while senior Justina Yu (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman) has shot a 29-over 245 (85-82-78) heading into Sunday's final round.

Sixth-ranked Purdue is running away with the Championship, sitting at eight-over 872 (298-288-286) and leading second place Michigan State by 18 strokes heading into the final round. The Spartans are at 26-over 890 (292-303-295) while Ohio State sits third at 39-over 903 (307-293-303). Indiana is currently fourth (44-over 908) while Michigan and Wisconsin are locked in a fifth-place tie at 46-over 910.

Sunday's final round gets underway at 7 a.m. CT with the first Wildcats teeing off at approximately 7:45 a.m. CT. Complete standings and live stats of the final 18 holes are available at Golfstat.com.