PALM DESERT, CALIF. – The Cortland women's golf team finished in 33rd place at the NCAA Division III Championship, held at the Desert Willow Golf Resort.
 
The Red Dragons finished with a score of 342 during the second day of competition Wednesday on the resort's par-72 Mountain View Course. Cortland ended with a total score of 707 over the first two days, improving by 23 strokes from Tuesday to Wednesday.
 
The top 15 schools in the 34-team field, along with six individuals not on those 15 teams, advance to the final two rounds Thursday and Friday. Emory is the team leader at 582, with four schools within six strokes of the lead.
 
Sophomore Gina Milazzo (Greenwood Lake/Warwick Valley) led Cortland on Wednesday with a six-over par 78, tied for the fourth-best NCAA Division III tournament round in program history. She opened with an even-par 36 on the front nine with a birdie and seven pars and scored a 42 on the back nine with four more pars. Milazzo was tied for 114th place after two days with a 162 (84-78). Three golfers - Toral Bhatt of Washington & Lee, Jessica Mason of Trinity College (Texas) and Jiayi (Yoyo) Fu of NYU - are tied for first, each with a three-under par 141.
 
Junior Mimi Rienzo (Stewartsville, NJ/Phillipsburg) registered an 83 on Wednesday. She opened with a 42 on the front and had a 41 on the back, and finished the day with seven pars. Rienzo was tied for 152nd place with a two-day score of 174 (91-83). Sophomore Steffi Trombley (Plattsburgh) improved from a 97 Tuesday to an 88 Wednesday and was in 168th place with a combined score of 185. Her Wednesday round featured a 46 on the front and a 42 on the back, capped by two pars and a birdie.
 
Junior Pia Aguilar (Santiago, Chile/Colegio Highlands) was in 174th place after two days with a 190, including a 97 (51-46) on Wednesday. Senior Kara Dumas (Jefferson/Gilboa-Conesville) was 175th with a two-day score of 192. After a 99 on Tuesday, she carded a 93 on Wednesday with a 45 on the front and 48 on the back.
 
Cortland played in the NCAA championship for the fourth time in the last five years. The Red Dragons earned an automatic berth into the national field after winning the Northeast Women's Golf Conference (NWGC) title in April.