ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Led by an even-par round of 72 from freshman Nishtha Madan, the Sacramento State women's golf team moved up to 15th place during the second round of the NCAA Albuquerque Regional at The Championship Course.

The Hornets were significantly better on Tuesday compared to the team's first round. Sacramento State shot 298 in the second round resulting in a 12-shot improvement from the opening day. The team jumped ahead of Cal Poly and is three strokes back of 49th-ranked Denver for 14th place and just five strokes out of 12th place heading into the final round on Wednesday.

"I thought we played good golf today," Sacramento State head coach David Sutherland said. "Over the last 27 holes we've shown we can play at this level. It's hard to make up a lot of ground in the standings because these teams are good but I feel like we at least have a chance to challenge some teams tomorrow."

Top-ranked Stanford took control of the team standings with a statement round on Tuesday. The Cardinal were 5-under during the round and now lead Pepperdine by four strokes. USC was 3-under during the day and is in third place, seven strokes off the leader.

Nishtha Madan started her second round with a bogey on the par-4 10th hole but played her next 12 holes at 3-under par. Madan birdied the par-3 11th and made the turn at 1-under with a birdie on the par-5 18th. She followed with a birdie on the par-5 first hole and stood at 2-under until a bogey on the par-4 fifth. After two more pars, she bogeyed the par-3 eighth and closed with a par on No. 9. Her total of 77-72-149 moved her into a tie for 38th place overall in the tournament.

Astha Madan shot 74 to rank second on the team during the round. The junior played her first nine holes at 3-over par with bogeys on Nos. 13, 16 and 17. She started the front side of the course with three pars before a birdie on the par-4 fourth and  bogey on No. 5. A birdie on the par-4 seventh and three other pars over her final four holes wrapped up her day. Madan is tied for 51st at 78-74-152.

Senior Chloe Bartek and freshman Sofie Babic each shot 76 to complete the team total for the day. Bartek bogeyed No. 11 and jumped to 3-over following a double bogey on the par-5 14th. She then birdied the par-4 17th — the only birdie by a Hornet on the hole during the day. On the front nine, she had consecutive bogeys on Nos. 3-5 to stand at 5-over but was able to birdie the par-3 eighth.

Babic opened play with five pars but encountered trouble with three consecutive bogeys over holes Nos. 15-17. Her first birdie of the second round came on the first hole to take her to 2-over. She later bogeyed Nos. 3 and 4, birdied the fifth and bogeyed No. 6 before ending with three pars.

Sophomore Julia Becker played the final 17 holes of her round at 1-over par with a team high five birdies. However, Becker was not able to overcome a quadruple bogey on the par-4 10th to start her round and finished at 5-over par (77). Becker destroyed the four par-5s on the course, birdying each hole during the round. On the flip side, she bogeyed all four par-3s.

Sacramento State will be paired with New Mexico State and Denver in the third round on Wednesday. The teams will start at 7:24 a.m. PT.

NCAA ALBUQUERQUE REGIONAL
Albuquerque, N.M. | The Championship Course
Par 72 | 6,637 Yards

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Stanford 290-283-573
2. Pepperdine 287-290-577
3. USC 295-285-580
4. Duke 297-288-585
5. California 295-291-596
6. Washington 295-292-587
7. Oklahoma State 304-286-590
8. Miami 303-288-591
9. Illinois 306-287-593
T10. Campbell 297-298-595
T10. North Carolina State 301-294-595
12. SMU 302-301-603
13. New Mexico State 307-297-604
14. Denver 305-300-605
15. SACRAMENTO STATE 310-298-608
16. Cal Poly 308-312-620
17. Houston Baptist 314-310-624
18. Texas Southern 365-350-715

INDIVIDUAL TOP FIVE
1. Albane Valenzuela, Stanford, 71-69-140
T2. Julianne Alvarez, Washington, 72-69-141
T2. Martina Edberg, Cal State Fullerton, 73-68-141
T4. Tatiana Wijaya, Pepperdine, 70-72-142
T4. Laura Kowohl, NC State, 69-73-142
T4. Bianca Padganganan, Gonzaga, 73-69-142

SACRAMENTO STATE SCORES
T38. Nishtha Madan 77-72-149
T51. Astha Madan 78-74-152
T60. Julia Becker 76-77-153
T71. Chloe Bartek 79-76-155
T77. Sofie Babic 80-76-156