Entering the day in a fifth-place tie, the reigning champion Blue Devils had a strong showing Wednesday to move into second place with two days of action remaining at the Scarlet Course at Ohio State University at the NCAA Championships.
Duke is three strokes off the pace set by No. 3 Arizona State and the Blue Devils hold a two-stroke lead on third-place Southern California.
Freshman Jennie Lee is leading the way for the Blue Devils and is in a five-way tie for fifth place. Lee carded a 1-over 73 on the tournament's opening day and fired an even-par round Wednesday.
"I hit the ball pretty well today," Lee said Wednesday. "I struggled with my iron shots the whole year, but I went home before the tournament and got some lessons. I hit some really good bunker shots today and made some saves that helped make some pars."
Senior Liz Janangelo had Duke's best round Wednesday. Rebounding from a 77 Tuesday, Janangelo fired a 1-under 71 in the second round. The team captain is in a 15th-place tie and is only three strokes behind her freshman teammate. The senior carded seven birdies and just one double bogey in the tournament's first two days.
"I really just drove it in the fairway more," Janangelo said of her second round. "I only hit one fairway yesterday so it was nice to have approach shots and have a nice chance of hitting the green instead of kind of making up a shot."
Junior Anna Grzebien, who won the individual crown at the NCAA Championships last season in Sunriver, Ore., has turned in back-to-back 75s. Freshman Amanda Blumenherst, the nation's top-ranked golfer, has also struggled opening the tournament. She is currently tied with her teammate at 6-over par.
The Blue Devils' final golfer, sophomore Jennifer Pandolfi, is also six over and the trio is in a 29th-place tie with six others heading into the third round of play.
Searching for his fourth NCAA title, head coach Dan Brooks said his team has made positive adjustments in the tournament's first two days.
"I think we had a learning day [Tuesday] and we learned something today too," Brooks said. "There are some greens that are getting a little bit firmer and are starting to behave a little bit more like you expect greens to behave with a new course being built."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.