Holding the Top Three Spots

CLE ELUM, Wash. — When the weather cools down and the wind picks up, the Stanford women’s golf team heats up. That was the case once again on Tuesday during the second round of the NCAA Cle Elum Regional at Tumble Creek Club, where the top-ranked Cardinal pulled ahead of the field and got one step closer to winning its regional for the second year in a row.
 
With temperatures in the mid-40s and wind gusts around 20 miles per hour on Tuesday, playing conditions were arguably slightly worse than Monday’s opening round. Scores across the 12-team field reflected that: the only team to finish better than par on Tuesday was Stanford, finishing with a 14-under 274 as a group. That is tied for the third lowest team score by Stanford in an NCAA Regional, trailing only the first and third rounds of last year’s Pullman Regional.
 

Crushin’ it in Cle Elum ??

Our 14-under on Tuesday is tied for the third lowest team round by Stanford in NCAA Regional history!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/9bRS4VWmjZ

— Stanford Women’s Golf (@StanfordWGolf) May 7, 2024

 
Duke opened the day leading by one stroke over Stanford, but that lead quickly evaporated and turned into a massive deficit. Stanford now holds a 12-stroke lead over the Blue Devils after Duke shot even with par in the second round. The next closest team to par for the day was Virginia, checking it at 8-over.
 
The top of the leaderboard could not get any better for Stanford, as Cardinal golfers occupy the top three spots heading into Wednesday’s final round. Paula Martin Sampedro, Rachel Heck, and Kelly Xu are all in contention for an individual win, and all carry a lot of intrigue into their third round of competition.
 
In what has been a stellar first season for the freshman from Madrid, Spain, Martin Sampedro accomplished something on Tuesday she has not done yet as a Cardinal. She shot her second consecutive round in the 60s on Tuesday, matching her first round 4-under 68. This puts her one step closer to another first in her collegiate career, and that would be an individual win. During the second round, she birdied six times, including four on the back nine to take over the lead and fend off her hard-charging teammates.
 
Heck has done just about everything during her Stanford career, from winning an individual national championship to being part of a team national championship, and has eight career wins. Her ninth career win is in striking distance after a career-best round in the NCAA Regionals,…