Love shines through the rain

MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. - For the second day in a row, a Blue Raider carded an even-par round as Olivia Love put up a 72 to lead the second place Middle Tennessee women's golf team through a rain-soaked day at The Fighting Joe Course at The Shoals Golf Club in Muscle Shoals, Ala.

Photos: Second Round Gallery

Love picked up a team-best five birdies on the day, and the junior was one of just seven in the 55-player field to record a round of par or better. Love is currently tied for seventh at three-over.

"To get that many birdies in a round in conditions like this is impressive," head coach Chris Adams said. "She played extremely well. She was spot-on with her clubs, and she really struck the ball well. She played hard, and I'm very proud of her."

As a team, Middle Tennessee posted a 15-over 303 to remain in second place, 17 strokes off the pace of Denver, who shot a five-over 293.

"We had some good moments and we had some bad moments," Adams said. "The team played hard today, and no one ever really gave up. It was just a tough day, and it just did not stop raining. I don't like the way we finished, but Denver played well. We still have another day to play."

Allie Knight picked up where she left off Monday, collecting three birdies and ending with a two-over 74 to move into a tie for fifth at two-over.

FIU's Katie Mundy maintained her edge atop the leaderboard at three-under.

Ashley Haggard shot a six-over 78 to drop into a tie for 13th at seven-over, and Karisa Akin finished with an eight-over 80 to fall into a tie for 18th at 11-over.

Natalie Chrisopulos ended with a seven-over 79 and currently sits tied for 22nd at 12-over.

The Blue Raiders will return to action with the final round of play at the Sun Belt Championship at The Shoals Golf Club. Live scoring will be available via Golfstat.com with continued coverage provided at twitter.com/MTWomensGolf.

TEAM SCORES (of 11)
1. Denver - 288-293=581 (+5) 2. Middle Tennessee - 295-303=598 (+22)
3. FIU - 298-305=603 (+27)
4. North Texas - 296-308=604 (+28)
5. UALR - 302-311=613 (+37)

Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter @MTAthletics for continued updates.