Humacao, PR – Western Carolina's Elizabeth Lohbauer remains within four strokes of the tournament medalist honors with 18 holes remaining at the Puerto Rico Classic, hosted by Ball State at the par-72, 6,026-yard Flamboyan Course at the Palmas Del Mar. Lohbauer carded a second-round score of 2-over par 74 on Wednesday for a two-round total of 1-under par 143.
 
She and sophomore teammate Brie Mapanao remain inside the tournament's Top 10 as Mapanao matched Lohbauer with a second-round 2-over par 74, in the clubhouse in a four-way tie for eighth place at 1-over par 145. Despite both Lohbauer and Mapanao still among the leaders, Western Carolina slid three spots in the second round into sixth place entering Thursday's final 18 holes.
 
Beginning on the front nine on Wednesday, Lohbauer recorded six pars and three bogeys on the front nine to make the turn at 3-over par. The Venice, Fla., product carded back-to-back birdies on the par-3 12th and par-4 13th to move back to 1-over par for the day. A fourth bogey on the par-4 17th relegated her to 2-over for the day and 1-under par for the tournament at 143.
 
Mapanao birdied two of her first five holes on Wednesday to start the day at 2-under par. But two bogeys before the turn left her even-par headed to the back nine. A bogey and a double-bogey on two of the first three holes headed in left her at 3-over par until a third birdie on the par-4 17th left her at 2-over par for the day at 74 and 1-over par 145 through 36 holes.
 
Rounding out WCU's scoring five are redshirt junior Kayleigh Baker and sophomore Sadler Miller both down seven spots into an eight-way tie for 39th at 154, with fifth-year senior Victoria Ladd in a tie for 55th with a two-round score of 157. Baker carded a fourth birdie in Wednesday's second round while Miller charted a pair to give her three for the event. Ladd had a much quieter 18 holes, cutting three strokes off her first round with a second-round 77. The Greensboro, N.C., product posted 13 pars with one birdie to counter a trio of bogeys and one triple.
 
Playing unattached as an individual, junior Kaitlyn Wingnean was six-strokes better on Wednesday, shooting a 5-over par 77 to advance two spots into 60th with a 36-hole score of 160. She carded her first birdie on a par-3, 189-yard 15th.
 
Hard-charging Florida Gulf Coast climbed five spots in the team standings on Wednesday to move into a two-way tie for first with opening-round leader California Baptist with matching scores of 582. Little Rock slipped into third place two strokes off the pace at 584, followed by Seattle in fourth at 585, and UNCG up two positions into fifth at 590, just eight strokes in arrears of the leader.
 
First-round leader Ava Romfo of UNCG continues to pace the field, following her opening-round 5-under par on Tuesday with an even-par round of 72 Wednesday, holding a two-stroke lead over Anna Dawson of Little Rock, 139-to-141.
 
The final round action opens at 8 a.m. AT / 9 a.m. ET on Thursday. WCU is paired with golfers from Seattle and UNCG and is set to begin between the 10th and 12th tees. Live scoring through GolfStat is available online through links at CatamountSports.com.
 
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6 – Western Carolina – 292 – 303 = 595 (+19)
3 – Elizabath Lohbauer – 69 – 74 = 143 (-1)
T8 – Brie Mapanao – 71 – 74 = 145 (+1)
T39 – Kayleigh Baker – 76 – 78 = 154 (+10)
T39 – Sadler Miller – 76 – 78 = 154 (+10)
T55 – Victoria Ladd – 80 – 77 = 157 (+13)
60 – Kaitlyn Wingnean (ind.) – 83 – 77 = 160 (+6)