GREENEVILLE, Tenn. -- The William Woods University women's golf team held on to its fourth-place spot on the team leaderboard at the 18th Annual NAIA Women's Golf National Championship, with
Jamie Palermo (Santa Fe, N.M.) holding fast at the fifth spot on the individual leaderboard. The Owls carded a team total of 310 (+18) on the day, keeping pace with third-place Shorter University but slipping to nine shots behind current leaders British Columbia. Palermo finished the day with a 75 (+2) and is just three shots behind individual leader Megan Woodland with a three-day total of 222 (73-74-75; +3).
Naomi Starr (Columbia, Mo.) was the unexpected hero for the Owls in round three, carding a 4-over par 77 to jump 20 places on the individual leaderboard with a 72-hole card of 247 (85-85-77; +28).
Ashlee Daly (Rocheport, Mo.) also moved up the the standings, climbing eight spots to a 26th-place tie with a tournament mark of 232 (76-78-78; +13).
Jada Bennington (Beloit, Wis.) fell a bit off the pace, posting a 7-over par 80 as she dropped to a 20th-place tie with a 229 (74-75-80; +10) for the tournament.
Lindsey Johnson (Springfield, Mo.) is 10 shots behind Bennington (T-58) with a tournament card of 239 (80-77-82; +20. As a team, the Owls have collected a 72-hole total of 917 (303-304-310; +41), a total that is 46 shots improved from 2011.
After a tumultuous second day, the third round saw very little movement - position-wise - on the team scoreboard, as each of the top eight teams after day three had teed off in that position. The only newcomer to the top 10 was Lee University, who moved from 13th to ninth, edging Cumberland College to 10th.
The Owls will open the final round in the second grouping from the first tee, partnering again with Embry-Riddle and Oklahoma Christian. Starr will lead off the final round at 8:40 a.m. EDT, with subsequent threesomes following at eight-minute intervals.
