Mercedes Germino

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Germino tied for fourth overall after 4-under 68

PARRISH, Fla. – The Kent State women's golf team rallied after a tough opening round with a five-over 293 during Monday's second round of the Central District Invitational at River Wilderness Golf Club.

The Golden Flashes started with a 310 and were in 11^th place in a challenging 15-team field through the first round. But Kent State re-grouped to move up one spot, and the Golden Flashes are just seven strokes out from a tie for sixth.

All five golfers either moved up or stayed the same in the second round.

With a four-under 68 for her second round, senior Mercedes Germino (Necochea, Argentina) vaulted from a tie for 33^rd to a tie for fourth place to lead Kent State's solid second round. Germino started the day with a four-over 76, but a three-under 33 on the course's front nine in the second round pushed her up the leaderboard.

Freshman Jennifer Ha (Calgary, Alberta) is tied for 33^rd after matching four-over 76 rounds on Monday. She was aided by three birdies on the day.

Senior Shamira Marshall (Macedonia, Ohio) moved up 11 spots after a two-over 74 second round; Marshall birdied two of her final four holes and is now tied for 39^th place.

Sophomore Erin Hawe (Walton, New Zealand) and senior Mandi Morrow (Kent, Ohio) are tied for 50^th place at 11-over 155. Hawe had just three blemishes for a three-over 75 second round effort, while Morrow was just one over on the front nine for a four-over 76.

Oklahoma owns a two-stroke lead on the tournament field with an eight-over 584, edging TCU (586) and Vanderbilt (587). The Sooners' Chirapat Jao-Javanil is six-under with a 138 to lead the board by five strokes after a first-round 68.

Kent State will conclude the 54-hole invitational Tuesday, Feb. 21 with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. ET.