BYU women's golf tied for the lead at Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — BYU women’s golf team shot 3-over par Monday and find themselves tied for the lead entering the final round of the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The Cougars are deadlocked with the University of Tennessee at 3-over par 571 and hold a three-shot lead over Texas Tech, Miami and Augusta who all sit in a tie for third at 6-over par 574.

“The girls were tough this afternoon,” said BYU head coach Carrie Roberts. “The rain picked up this afternoon and our play improved.”

Kerstin Fotu paced the Cougars carding a 6-under-par day with a pair of 68s good for 136 in the opening 36 holes on a rainy Knoxville afternoon. She leads the individual championship by two shots over Chloe Holder of Augusta University and Emily Price of Kent State who both shot 4-under par 138 on day one.

"I just tried to stay focused in the moment, rather than focusing on outcome or the rain," Fotu said. "I concentrated on being precise with each shot. Tomorrow I’m going to stick with my game plan and try to focus even more on sharpening things up."

Reigning WCC Golfer of the Year Allysha Mae Mateo shot consecutive rounds of even-par 71 to put her in a tie for seventh at 142, six shots off the pace going into the final round tomorrow.

Lila Galeai shot 4-over par with consecutive 73s and sits in 32nd place at 146. Addie Anderson posted scores of 78-71--149 and finds herself in a tie for 51st. Annick Haczkiewicz rounded out the day for the Cougars with rounds of 76-74--150 and sits tied for 57th with 18-holes to play in Tennessee.

"The afternoon 18 just showed how mentally tough the girls were," said BYU assistant coach Lea Garner. "The rain really picked up in round two, but they stayed focused and got the job done. We just have to stick to that game plan tomorrow and be even more locked in."

The Cougars tee off in a 9 a.m. ET shotgun start on Tuesday. Follow live scoring for the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship final round at Golfstat.com.