After a mediocre third round, the No. 14 Stanford women’s golf team dropped into a tie for fifth place heading into the final day of the NCAA Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla. Nevertheless, at the par-72, 6,351-yard Legends Course, the Cardinal (299-300-304—903) is poised to make its best finish at the event since a runner-up showing in 2000.

Sophomore Mari Chun (76-78-71—225) finally showed signs of dominance that had been lacking in her previous two rounds of play. Chun’s one-under-par 71 yesterday catapulted her from a tie for 55th into a tie for 18th. But senior Lauren Todd (70-74-76—220) is still pacing the Cardinal attack, despite dropping two places to eighth, while fellow senior Jennifer Tangtiphaiboontana (77-72-77—226) also dropped 13 places into a tie for 27th.

Rounding off the Cardinal lineup are the two freshmen, Angela King (80-77-80—237) and Catherina Wang (76-77-86—239), who are tied for 87th and 96th, respectively.

In the team category, No. 2 Duke (300-287-293—880) appears headed for its third consecutive NCAA crown. Barring a complete meltdown in the final round, the Blue Devils will be the first team to win back-to-back-to-back titles in 12 years. Meanwhile, No. 10 Purdue (303-294-291—888) overtook No. 9 UCLA (303-294-291—893) for command of second place, though the Boilermakers still trail Duke by a distant eight strokes. In a tie with Stanford for fifth is No. 6 Vanderbilt.

Though the afternoon winds picked up for the third consecutive day, Stanford was able to remain among the 24-team field’s top five. Today, the Cardinal, set to tee off at 12:30 p.m., will finish its 19th consecutive NCAA Championships.