Macon, Ga. – Madison Isaacson climbed 11 spots in the individual standings in Monday's second round into a five-way tie for 17th place after 36 holes to lead Western Carolina at the Mercer Invitational being held at the par-72, 6,218-yard Brickyard Golf Club. Competing in their first – and now only – tournament of the fall semester, the Catamounts are ninth overall in the team standings.
 
Isaacson was four-strokes better in the second round after shooting 6-over par, 78, in her first competitive round of the season. The junior from Greensboro, N.C., charted four birdies in the second round to give her five for the day. She was poised for an even-par second round before a double-bogey on her final hole of the day – the par-4 15th – relegated her to 2-over par for the second 18. Isaacson paced the squad in par-5 scoring at 1-under (4.88).
 
Sophomore Victoria Ladd was likewise improved by four strokes in her second round, following an opening-round 82 with a 78 to advance five positions in the standings. Ladd, who birdied two holes on the day – one per round – showed solid consistency down the stretch by carding pars on the final six holes of her day after shooting 3-over on the same stretch in the first round. Ladd led WCU with 21 pars over the first 36 holes of the tournament.
 
Senior Maya White had WCU's biggest score improvement from the first to the second round, trimming six strokes off an opening-round 84 to shoot 78 for a two-round score of 162, tied for 42nd overall. White had three birdies, two in the second round. Rounding out WCU's scoring five are true freshman Vanessa Campos (88-84), who was making her collegiate debut, and senior Cameron Wood (87-85), both tied for 52nd overall with matching scores of 172.
 
Western Kentucky and Chattanooga pace the nine-team field in a tie for first at 595 after two rounds after the Mocs knotted things up with the first-round leading Hilltoppers on the second 18 holes. Tournament-host Mercer is third at 597, followed by ETSU (601) and Troy (610) rounding out the top five.
 
UTC's Daphne Von Son leads the field with a 2-under par score of 142, shooting 70 and 72 on Monday, respectively. Western Kentucky's Sarah Arnold is a stroke back in the runner-up spot entering the final 18 holes on Tuesday.
 
Live scoring of the final round is available online at GolfStat.com.
 
9 – Western Carolina – 331-314 = 645 (+69)
T17 – Madison Isaacson – 78-74 = 152 (+8)
T38 – Victoria Ladd – 82-78 = 160 (+16)
T42 – Maya White – 84-78 = 162 (+18)
T52 – Vanessa Campos – 88-84 = 172 (+28)
T52 – Cameron Wood – 87-85 = 172 (+28)