Sheils climbs leaderboard

French Lick, Ind. - Nebraska's Madeleine Sheils fired a one-under-par 71 to climb nine spots into a tie for sixth after two rounds at the 2012 Big Ten Women's Golf Tournament at the Donald C. Ross Course at the French Lick Resort Saturday.

Sheils, a senior from Boise, Idaho, enters Sunday's final round in position to challenge for the Big Ten individual crown after producing one of just six rounds better than par through the first 36 holes of the 12-team tournament.

Sheils was able to overcome four bogeys and a double-bogey in Saturday's round by knocking in seven birdies to go along with six pars on the day. Sheils birdied four consecutive holes (No. 3-6) in the second round on the par 72, 6,156-yard layout of the Ross Course.

After opening with a 76 on Friday, Sheils enters Sunday's final round in a four-way tie for sixth at 147, just four strokes behind tournament leader Lindsey Solberg from Michigan State. Solberg added a second-round 70 to her opening-round 73 to end the day at 143, two strokes ahead of teammate Caroline Powers (72-73-145) and Ohio State's Rachel Rohanna (74-71-145). Michigan's Meagan Bauer (74-72-146) and Minnesota's Jackie Shepherd (73-73-146) are just one shot ahead of Sheils.

Fellow Husker senior Kayla Knopik produced another solid round round of 75 to remain among the top 15 individuals. The Papillion, Neb., native is tied for 14th at 150 through two rounds.

Sophomore Steffi Neisen added a 78 to sit in a tie for 26th after 36 holes at 154, while senior Katie Keiser from Gothenburg, Neb., pitched in a 78 of her own to produce NU's fourth counting score of the day. Keiser heads into the second round in a tie for 56th at 162.

As a team, Nebraska remained in a tie for sixth place after producing a 302 on Saturday to close the first two rounds at 611. Michigan State moved into sole possession of the lead with a tournament-best 292 on Saturday to head into the final round at 590. Ohio State is five strokes back in second at 595 after a 297 in the second round. Michigan moved to third at 599 following a strong second-round 294. Purdue added a 294 on Saturday to move into a tie for fourth at 604 with Illinois, which managed a 300 in the second round. the Huskers are tied with Northwestern at 611, eight strokes ahead of eighth-place Minnesota (619).

The Big Ten Tournament concludes Sunday with a final round beginning at 8 a.m. central time. Live scoring will be available at GolfStat.com.

© 2013 Rural Radio Network. All rights reserved. Republishing, rebroadcasting, rewriting, redistributing prohibited. Copyright Information