Morganton, N.C. – Western Carolina true freshman Brie Mapanao carded consecutive rounds of 1-under par 71 on Monday to sit atop the individual leaderboard after 36 of the scheduled 54 holes at the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate. Joined by sophomore Kaitlyn Wingnean inside the individual Top 10 in a tie for seventh, Mapanao guided the Catamounts into the runner-up position with 18 holes to play at the par-72, 6,213-yard Mimosa Hills Golf Club.
 
Paired with golfers from first-round leader Georgia Southern and third-place challenger Gardner-Webb, the second-place Catamounts tee-off between the first and third holes in Tuesday's 9 a.m. shotgun start. Live scoring through GolfStat is available online through a link at CatamountSports.com.
 
Opening both rounds on the front nine, Mapanao overcame an up-and-down first 18 holes, countering five bogeys with six birdies before charting a much quieter second round with two birdies against just one bogey. After carding five bogeys through her first 11 holes to ultimately sit at 2-over par, the Quakers Hill, New South Wales, Australia, product finished her first round with three-consecutive birdies and four-straight pars to shoot 71. In round two, Mapanao was even-par through nine, carding her second birdie of the round – and eighth of the day – on the par-5, 479-yard 12th to move back to 1-under par and finished with six straight pars.
 
Mapanao leads the field in par-5 scoring at 4.50 (-4) and is tied for the tournament lead with eight birdies. She carries a two-stroke lead over Georgia Southern's Abby Newton in second at even-par 144 and a five-stroke advantage over the two-way tie for third between Kayla Benge of UNC Asheville and Elon individual Annie Wu, tied at 3-over par 147 into Tuesday's final round.
 
Wingnean advanced four spots between the first and second rounds, following her 3-over par 75 with a 4-over par round of 76. Three birdies against three bogeys on the front nine left her turning to the back at even-par in the first round before she finished with a bogey, a double-bogey, and seven pars for the 75. Two-over par at the turn in round two, Wingnean charted a pair of birdies in a 2-over back nine to shoot 76, ending Monday with five combined birdies, tied for eighth in the field.
 
Sophomore Elizabeth Lohbauer and senior Victoria Ladd were among WCU's biggest gainers in the second round as Lohbauer knocked four strokes off her first-round score to climb 13 spots into a tie for 11th while Ladd gained 12 positions into a tie for 19th, likewise four strokes better in the second 18 holes. Lohbauer countered eight bogeys with a pair of birdies in the first round to shoot 78 before collecting her third birdie of the day against a trio of bogeys to start the second round, settling to shoot even-par over the final 11 holes of the day for a 74. Ladd closed her first round 79 with a birdie and three-consecutive pars. In the second round, the Greensboro, N.C., native countered a double-bogey and three bogeys with two birdies to shoot 3-over, 75.
 
Rounding out WCU's scoring five was fifth-year senior Madison Isaacson in a six-way tie for 28th overall with a 36-hole score of 156. Isaacson posted consecutive rounds of 78, posting four birdies on the day – two per round. Isaacson was poised to hit the clubhouse with a second-round 2-over par score but was hindered by consecutive double-bogeys on the par-3 17th and par-4 18th to relegated her to the 6-over par round.
 
As a team, WCU paces the field in both par-3 (3.25, +10) and par-4 (4.20, +20) scoring after Monday's first two rounds. Collectively, the Catamounts have carded a tournament-best 104 pars and are second with 23 combined birdies.
 
Playing unattached as an individual, redshirt sophomore Kayleigh Baker sits in a two-way tie for 35th overall after a two-round total of 157. Baker shot par on 13 holes in her first round in carding a 6-over par 78 before charting a pair of birdies in heading into the clubhouse with a second-round 79. Baker charted a WCU-best 24 pars on Monday, tied for the fourth-most in the tournament.
 
Georgia Southern leads the 12-team field after shooting 592 on Monday, six strokes ahead of the Catamounts in second at 598. Gardner-Webb is third at 609 with Wofford (613) and UNC Asheville (618) rounding out the Top Five.
 
Tournament play concludes on Tuesday morning with a 9 a.m. shotgun start.
 
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2 – Western Carolina – 302 – 296 = 598 (+22)
1 – Brie Mapanao (1) – 71 – 71 = 142 (-2)
T7 – Kaitlyn Wingnean (5) – 75 – 76 = 151 (+7)
T11 – Elizabeth Lohbauer (3) – 78 -74 = 152 (+8)
T19 – Victoria Ladd (4) – 79 – 75 = 154 (+10)
T28 – Madison Isaacson (2) – 78 – 78 = 156 (+12)
T34 – Kayleigh Baker (ind.) – 78 – 79 = 157 (+13)