Halfway through the 2007 NCAA Division I Championships, the No. 14 Stanford women’s golf team remained steady in fourth place with a 12-over-par 300 in yesterday’s second round of play. The Cardinal’s two-round total of 599 (23 over par) at the par-72, 6,351-yard Legends Course in Daytona Beach, Fla., trails that of two-time defending champ and No. 2-ranked Duke, which is in first by 12 strokes.

Although senior Lauren Todd (70-74—144) currently leads the Cardinal women, a two-over 74 dropped her into a tie for sixth place individually. Meanwhile, fellow senior Jennifer Tangtiphaiboontana vaulted from 53rd to 14th with an even-par 72 on the day.

Playing in her first NCAA Championships, freshman Catherina Wang (76-77—153) dropped to 48th, one stroke ahead of sophomore Mari Chun (76-78—154) at 55th. Rounding out the Cardinal lineup is freshman Angela King, who currently stands at 79th with a two-round total of 157.

Entering yesterday in fifth place and in danger of losing their championship streak, the Blue Devils shot a blistering one-under-par 287. With its amazing second round, Duke swapped places with yesterday’s leader, No. 8 Southern California, which dropped to fifth with an 18-over-par second round. The remaining top-five teams are No. 9 UCLA (303-291—594) in second and No. 10 Purdue (303-294—597) in third.

Yesterday morning, the weather favored the Cardinal women’s cause. Teeing off early on, Stanford was able to avoid the late-afternoon high clouds and the difficult wind conditions the team endured on its first day.

As the Stanford women head into the third of the tournament’s four rounds, they can only hope that the pattern of poor afternoon weather does not persist. The Card is set to tee off at 12:30 p.m. today.