Hilton Head Island, S.C. – Western Carolina fifth-year senior Madison Isaacson maintained her hold on second place in the individual standings on Monday, just five strokes off the pace entering Tuesday's final round as the Catamount women's golf team slid into third place just a stroke in arrears of the runner-up spot after two of the scheduled three rounds at the 20223 Southern Conference Women's Golf Championship at the par-72, 6,036-yard Moss Creek Golf Club's South Course.
 
Isaacson is one of three Catamounts to sit among the top 10 in the standings with sophomore Elizabeth Lohbauer maintaining her position in a four-way tie for sixth at 152 with freshman Brie Mapanao climbing five spots into a three-way tie for 10th a pair of strokes back at 154.
 
With rounds of 1-under par 71 on Sunday and an even-par 72 round on Monday, Isaacson and 36-hole leader Anna Morgan (70-68=138) of Furman are the only two golfers to sit under par after two rounds of play.
 
The third and final round of the 2023 SoCon Championship is scheduled for Tuesday morning with tee times off the front beginning at 8 a.m. and on the back at 9 a.m. Paired with golfers from first-place Furman and second-place Mercer, WCU's scoring five hits the course at 9:20 a.m. on Hole No. 1. Live scoring through GolfStat is available online through a link at CatamountSports.com.
 

Isaacson overcame a 3-over par front nine on a windy Monday, charting a trio of bogeys against six pars before the turn to the back nine. The Greensboro, N.C., product matched with six pars on the back with a trio of birdies including one on her 36th hole of the tournament – the par-4, 357-yard 18th that she bogeyed on Sunday.
 
Isaacson sits second overall in the tournament field with 25 total pars and ranks second in par-4 scoring at 1-under (3.95) Her team-best six birdies put her third-best among the 45-golfer field.
 
Lohbauer fired a second-round 6-over par 78, carding 13 pars with four bogeys and one double-bogey just two holes into her day. She continues to sit inside the individual top 10 in a sixth-place tie with a two-day score of 152. Mapanao was WCU's biggest gainer on Monday, advancing into a tie for 10th place. Even par at the turn after a birdie and a bogey on the front, the Australian-born striker carded five pars including three-straight to end the round against four bogeys to hit the clubhouse at 4-over for the day and at 154 for the event.
 
Rounding out WCU's scoring five are senior Victoria Ladd in a tie for 20th with a two-day score of 157 and sophomore Kaitlyn Wingnean in a tie for 32nd overall at 161. Ladd posted her second birdie of the event on the par-5 11th in shooting 79 in round two, while Wingnean was hampered by a triple-bogey on the same hole before recovering to finish with a birdie and two pars over her final three holes of the day to shoot 82.
 
Collectively as a team, the Catamounts lead the field with 108 pars and are fourth overall with a combined 17 birdies. WCU has also scored a tournament-low 3.08 (+3) on the par-3 layouts.
 
Furman shot 5-over-par 293 during round two, which is four shots better than their total from round one, to increase their overall lead to 15 strokes. Mercer moved into second place after shooting a 10-over-par 298 in the second round to improve its overall score to 605. Western Carolina (606) is third, followed by ETSU eight strokes back at 614 and Wofford in fifth for a second straight day at 624. Rounding out the nine-team field is Samford (630), UNCG (641), Chattanooga (642), and The Citadel (694).
 
The final round of the championship will begin with threesomes at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. Complete tournament recaps and results will be available at the conclusion of play.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount women's golf and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountWGolf).
 
2023 SoCon Women's Golf Championship
Moss Creek Golf Club – South Course | After 36 Holes
1 – Furman – 297 – 293 = 590 (+14)
2 – Mercer – 307 – 298 = 605 (+29)
3 – Western Carolina – 301 – 305 = 606 (+30)
4 – ETSU – 307 – 307 = 614 (+38)
5 – Wofford – 311 – 313 = 624 (+48)
6 – Samford – 313 – 317 = 630 (+54)
7 – UNCG – 316 – 325 = 641 (+65)
8 – Chattanooga – 318-324 = 642 (+66)
9 – The Citadel – 351-343 = 694 (+118)
 
3 – Western Carolina – 301 - 305 = 606 (+30)
2 – Madison Isaacson – 71 – 72 = 143 (-1)
T6 – Elizabeth Lohbauer – 74 – 78 = 152 (+8)
T10 – Brie Mapanao – 78 – 76 = 154 (+10)
T20 – Victoria Ladd – 78 – 79 = 157 (+13)
T32 – Kaitlyn Wingnean – 79 – 82 = 161 (+17)