MSU Women's Golf Remains in First Place - BIG TEN CONFERENCE Official Athletic Site

MSU Women's Golf Remains in First Place

Meikle sets Big Ten Championships' 54-hole record

	Michigan State's Rachel Meikle is in first place after tallying a 54-hole record of 213.

April 28, 2007

Championship Headquarters

Team Result-Round Three

Individual Result-Round Three

EAST LANSING, Mich. - After cold, dreary weather on the first day, the conditions for Saturday's third round of the 2007 Big Ten Women's Golf Championships changed dramatically to blue skies and 65 degree temperatures. However, one thing remained constant - Michigan State's Rachel Meikle (71-69-73) continued her dominance on the field, establishing a Big Ten Championships 54-hole record of 213.

In the team standings, Michigan State (300-300-290) stands in first place after a third round 290 and sits atop of the leaderboard at 890. The Spartans, who are vying for their third Big Ten title in school history and their first since 2001, have a 23-shot lead over Purdue, which stands in second at 913 (309-308-296). Northwestern (313-307-301--921), Ohio State (313-309-302--924) and Indiana (311-315-304--930) follow in third, fourth and fifth place respectively.

Rounding out the 11-team field is Michigan (319-317-307--943), Illinois (320-314-313--947), Iowa (319-323-307--949), Penn State (327-321-311--959), Wisconsin (317-322-322--961) and Minnesota (322-326-320--968).

A day after tying the 36-hole tournament record of 140, Meikle eclipsed the previous third-round mark of 214 held by Ohio State's Cathy Kratzert (1983), Purdue's Stacy Orschell (2000) and Northwestern's Alice Kim (2006). For the day, the senior Spartan shot a 1-over-par 73 after notching three birdies before giving up three bogeys on the third, sixth and 18th holes to close out her record-setting round.

Meikle holds a six-shot advantage over Purdue's Christel Boeljon (72-75-72), who stands in second place at 219, while Michigan State's Mandi McConnell (74-75-72--221) is third. Northwestern's Kim (78-73-74) and MSU's Sara Brown (77-77-71) are tied for fourth at 225. Brown shot the best round of the day, notching a 1-under 71.

The final round of the 2007 Big Ten Women's Golf Championships will begin at 9 a.m. ET on Sunday at the Forest Akers West Golf Course (par-72; 6,316 yards). Live scoring for Sunday's final round can be found on bigten.org.