PALM DESERT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's golf team had a steady second round, with Esther Lee shooting an even-par 72, and Ella Chiu, Christine Yu and Alisa Ching all carding 73s, to stand in a tie for fourth place at the midway point of the NCAA Championships on Wednesday at the Desert Willow Golf Resort.

Emory moved into first place at +6 after the first 36 holes, while the Athenas find themselves in the middle of a tight cluster of teams jockeying for the second-place spot as the tournament begins its second half. Carnegie Mellon finished its second round at +10, with NYU at +11, CMS and Washington and Lee tied at +12, and Middlebury at +14. 

The Athenas started on the 10th hole of the Firecliff course and mostly shot pars on their first nine holes, as the four scorers combined for two birdies, four bogeys and 30 pars over their first 36 holes. 

CMS made a little run after the turn to get up into second place momentarily, as Yu birdied No. 1 and No. 3, and Chiu birdied No. 1 and No. 6. The Athenas then slipped back a bit as the desert weather heated up in the early afternoon, but Lee helped the Athenas get some momentum back with a birdie on No. 18 to end the day at +12. Emory birdied its final hole as well to hold a six-shot lead over the Athenas, and a four-shot lead over the field. 

Lee remains in a tie for ninth on the individual leaderboard at -1 after her first two rounds, following her 71 on Tuesday. Yu and Chiu are both at +4 in 26th place, while Ching is at +5 and in 30th place. 

The third round will get underway tomorrow morning at 7 a.m., with the Athenas teeing off in the second-to-last grouping as one of the fourth-place teams.