Florida continues to lead USGA tourney at Dalhousie

Florida mainatined its lead Friday at the USGA Women's Team Championship at Dalhousie, shooting a second-round 145 to increase its lead to two strokes over second-place Georgia.

Four-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Meghan Stasi shot her second straight 1-under 71 to pace Florida, which also received a 74 from Kendall Griffin. Florida has a two-day total of 283.

Florida shot a 138 in Thursday's first round behind a 67 by Tara Joy-Connelly, who shot a 75 on Friday.

Only the top two scores of each three-woman team are used in each of the three rounds.

Georgia shot a 139 on Friday with all three of its players shooting under par but settled for a 146 on Friday when all three shot over par for a two-day total of 285.

Emilie Meason and Margaret Shirley both carded 73s on Friday.

"I felt the hole locations were a little bit harder today, especially 8 and 9, which were tucked," said Shirley, who carded four birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey on Friday. "Also, the wind picked up, and it rained for five or six holes for us. So, a little bit tougher conditions. Overall though, we feel like we're in a good position and are looking forward to the challenge tomorrow."

The tournament appears to be a horse-race between Florida and Georgia, with an eight-shot gap between Georgia and third-place Alabama.

Florida won its only USGA Women's Team Championship team title in 1999, while Georgia owns three titles, including back-to-back in 2009 and 2011.

There were only four sub-par rounds Friday after 10 on Thursday.

Alabama's Michaela Morad and Massachusetts' Shannon Johnson led the field with 70s on Friday.

Missouri, which began the second round tied for 15th after shooting 150 on Thursday, shot 154 on Friday and fell to 21st with a 304 total.

However, the host state finished two shots ahead of Oregon to claim the final spot for today's final round.

The field of 49 states and the District to Columbia were trimmed to the top 21 after the second round.

Only Ellen Port was able to better her first-round score for Missouri. Port shot a 76 on Friday after opening with a 77. Catherine Dolan completed Missouri's second-round score with a 78, which was two shots higher than her first round.

"To have missed by one would have been so tough, but we made it by one, so we're moving on," Dolan said. "I think being in our home state made us want this even more. To have missed the cut here would have been so tough. If we hadn't made it, we would have been thinking about all the opportunities we missed."

Kayla Eckelkamp did not factor into the team score with an 88 after leading the team with a 74 on Thursday.

"We wanted to make the cut so bad, and I'm so glad we made it," Eckelkamp said. "The last one in, but we made it."

Defending champion New Jersey is tied for 18th with a two-day total of 304, which is one shot ahead of Missouri.