NEW ORLEANS, La. – University of Denver senior Tonje Daffinrud (Tonsberg, Norway) carded a seven-under par 137 through the first two rounds to sit in a tie for first place at the All-State Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate hosted at the par-72, 6,140 English Turn Golf & Country Club in New Orleans, La.

Daffinrud cared a two-under par 70 in the first round and a five-under par 67 in the second round. Sophomore Elyse Smidinger (Crofton, Md.) finished in a tie for 37th place with a three-under par 147 with a first-round score of four-over par 76 and a second-round score of one-under par 71.

Freshman Mariell Bruun (Larvik, Norway) sits in a tie for 51st place with a five-over par 149, while sophomore Isabel Southard (Sharon, Mass.) and junior Rachael Watton (Edinburgh, Scotland) are both tied for 76th place. Bruun carded an eight-over par 80 in the first round and then came back to shoot a three-under par 69.

Southard posted a two-over par 74 in round one and an eight-over par 80 in the second round for a total of 10-over par 154. Watton finished with a four-over par 76 and a six-over par 78 for a 10-over par 154.

UCLA leads the field with a 14-under par 562, while the Bruins’ Erynne Lee is tied for first with Daffinrud with a five-under par 137.

Round three concludes tomorrow with a shotgun start at 7 a.m. MT.

FORMAT

The two-day, 36-hole event will feature 18 holes each day on the par-72, 6,140-yard English Turn Golf Course. Play will begin at 8 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 24 from holes No. 1 and No. 10, while Tuesday's final round will begin with a shotgun start at 7 a.m. MT.

COURSE

English Turn Golf & Country Club features a Jack Nicklaus-designed par-72, 6,140 yard course, with different yardage on the front-9 (3,072) and back-9 (3,068).

DU AT THE TULANE ALL-STATE SUGAR BOWL GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

Denver last competed in the event during the 2010-11 season, where the Pioneers finished in 17th overall, and were paced by Ellie Gives 12-over par performance that landed her in a tie for 52nd place. Daffinrud competed in the tournament as a freshman carding scores of 78-81-77, 236 for a 20-over par.

TOURNAMENT QUICK FACTS

Host: Tulane University

Tournament: 2014 Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Golf Championship        

Location: English Turn Golf & Country Club

Dates: Feb. 23-Feb. 25

Live Scoring: Golfstat.com

Format: 54-holes (18/18/18)

Par: 72

2014 Yardage: 6,140 (Front-3,072 yds; Back-3,068)

Teams (Golfstat rankings): No. 9 Alabama, No. 24 Auburn, No. 54 Baylor, No. 11 Clemson, No. 44 Denver, No. 18 Florida, No. 47 Georgia, No. 23 LSU, No. 73 Ole Miss, No. 34 Mississippi State, No. 12 Oklahoma State, No. 63 Texas, No. 31 Tulane, No. 2 UCLA, No. 1 USC, No. 66 UTSA, and No. 4 Washington

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