Schmidt Moves Up to 17th with 77 (+5) in 3rd Round of NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championship :: Rachael Schmidt moves up five spots to 17th.

Schedule/Results | Roster | News | Archives

Schmidt Moves Up to 17th with 77 (+5) in 3rd Round of NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championship

Rachael Schmidt moves up five spots to 17th.

2008 NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championships

May 15, 2008

Rachael Schmidt (Jr./Elk River, Minn.) shot a 77 (+5) on the third day of the NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championships. The tournament is being played at the Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston, Texas. Schmidt teed off on the back nine in one of the last groups today. Schmidt, who is playing in her third NCAA Division II Championship, moved up five spots on the day. She began the day tied for 22nd after a 76 on day one and a 77 on day two put her nine strokes over par. Schmidt will begin the fourth and final round tomorrow sitting in a tie for 17th place at +14.

Schmidt began today's round on the back nine which gave her trouble over the first two days of the Championship. The junior carded a 41 and a 42 the first two days on the back nine, but today would be a different story. Schmidt opened with three straight pars before bogeying the par-five thirteenth hole. She regrouped quickly and parred the next four holes, but ended the back nine two-over par as she took an extra stroke on the eighteenth to finish her first nine in 38 strokes.

The Elk River-native got the two strokes back over the first three holes after the turn as she birdied the par-five first hole and the par-four third hole to move back to even par on the day. She remained steady on holes four and five with pars before finding trouble on number six. Schmidt took a triple bogey on the sixth and moved three strokes over par with three holes to play. The NSIC women's golfer of the year refocused and took pars on the par-three seventh and the par-five eighth holes. Unfortunately, she found trouble on her final hole of the day taking a double bogey on the par-four ninth to move back to five-over par.

The National Championship is a four round event that will crown both a team champion and ten All-Americans. Schmidt finished 10th as a freshman in 2006 to earn All-American honors by compiling a 54-hole total of 236 (78.6 average). As a sophomore, Schmidt finished 32nd in 2007 with a 72-hole total of 317 (79.2 average). She is set to tee off in the final round of the Championship tomorrow at 8:05 a.m. Schmidt will begin her final round on the back nine for the third time this week.