ORLANDO – Senior Kim Mitchell turned in a solid second round on Monday to lead Western Carolina at the UCF Challenge, which is being held at the par-72, 6,349-yard Eagle Creek Golf Club. Mitchell countered four bogeys with a birdie and 13 pars to shoot 3-over 75 for a two-day tally of 154, tied for 51st overall. The Catamounts (621) remain in 17th place collectively, following up Sunday’s 319 with a team score of 302 on Monday.

Paired with golfers from Mississippi State and Daytona State, WCU’s scoring five will begin Tuesday’s final round with a shotgun start between holes Nos. 15 and 17.

True freshman Natalia Villavicencio was among the big movers on the second day, advancing 14 positions after carding a career-low round of 1-over-par 73 – a nine stroke improvement from Sunday. She moved into a tie for 64th with a two-round score of 155.

Senior Mariah Hopkins slipped three spots into a tie for 68th overall, a stroke back at 156. Hopkins was even par through the back nine, countering a pair of bogeys with two birdies. She finished her round with five pars and four bogeys on the front nine. Freshman Maddi Caldwell is also among the tie for 68th individually after matching her opening round 6-over 78 on Monday. She, too, played the back nine even.

Rounding out WCU’s scoring five is junior Bethany Galloway, who is in a tie for 93rd overall with a two-day total of 165. Galloway charted a pair of birdies on Monday but had seven holes of bogey or worse.

Tied for third after the opening round, No. 25 Missouri (584) jumped two spots to grab the tournament team lead through 36 holes.

Missouri’s Michelle Butler and East Carolina’s Frida Gustafsson Spang are tied atop the individual leader board after 36 holes with matching scores of 3-under-par 141.

The final round of WCU’s spring-opening event is scheduled for Tuesday with a shotgun start beginning at 8:45 a.m.