Edisto Island, S.C. – After enduring a difficult opening round Monday morning, Western Carolina's Elsa Maren Steinarsdóttir answered with one of the best rounds of the afternoon, firing a 1-under-par 70 to climb 33 spots on the leaderboard and lead the Catamounts through 36 holes at the Edisto Island Invitational.
 
The junior enters Tuesday's final round tied for 30th at 10-over-par 152 as WCU sits tied for 10th in the 14-team field at The Plantation Course at Edisto.
 
Steinarsdóttir and classmate Annalee Caveney, who enters Tuesday tied for 34th, helped Western Carolina compile a 36-hole score of 613 (+45) through two rounds.
 
The final round opens with a 9:15 a.m. shotgun start in threesomes on the par-71, 5,953-yard layout. Live scoring is available online through the Scoreboard app, powered by Clippd.
 
Steinarsdóttir appeared poised to finish her opening round at 6-over par through 16 holes before a costly score on the par-5 fifth, her 17th hole of the round, pushed her to an 11-over-par 82. The Akranes, Iceland, native quickly regrouped, closing the morning round with a birdie before catching fire in the afternoon.
 
She countered three bogeys with four birdies in round two, carding a 1-under 70 and shaving 12 strokes from her opening-round score. The effort vaulted Steinarsdóttir 33 spots up the leaderboard heading into Tuesday's final round.
 
Caveney opened with a 4-over-par 75 and was positioned to climb the leaderboard in the afternoon after recording two birdies through her first 11 holes. A difficult finish in the second round left the junior tied for 34th with a 36-hole score of 153 (+11).
 
Western Carolina's three freshmen rounded out the scoring lineup. Marissa Scaletta sits tied for 41st at 154 after rounds of 75 and 79, while Julie Mathea Busch Braathen trimmed two strokes off her opening-round score with a second-round 77 and enters Tuesday tied for 49th at 156. Julia Capellini posted one of the day's biggest improvements, cutting seven strokes from her opening-round card to climb 10 spots into a tie for 63rd at 161. Scaletta and Capellini both carded four birdies on Monday, while Busch Braathen had three.
 
Tournament host College of Charleston surged into first place with a 36-hole score of 567, improving 13 strokes from its opening round to overtake High Point by two shots. High Point is second at 569, with Charleston Southern (586), Stetson (588), and Georgia State (591) rounding out the top five entering Tuesday's final round.
 
No. 50 Makayla Grubb of High Point carries a two-stroke lead over Georgia State's Thanpitcha Kongthong into Tuesday's final round. Grubb posted consecutive rounds of 68 for a total of 136, while Kongthong shot even-par 71 and 67 to climb five spots into contention.
 
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T10 – Western Carolina – 311 – 302 = 613 (+45)
T30 – Elsa Maren Steinarsdóttir – 82-70 = 152 (+10)
T34 – Annalee Caveney – 75-78 = 153 (+11)
T41 – Marissa Scaletta – 75-79 = 154 (+12)
T49 – Julie Mathea Busch Braathen – 79-77 = 156 (+14)
T63 – Julia Capellini – 84-77 = 161 (+19)