Claremont-Mudd-Scripps pulled within as few as three strokes of the lead late in the morning before settling into a tie for fourth still six back through two rounds of the NCAA Championship.

Pomona-Pitzer ranks just 10 strokes behind CMS in a tie for eighth while the University of Redlands failed to make the 15-team cut. No. 1 Emory University leads the alone at +6, four strokes ahead of second place.

Esther Lee paced CMS with an Even-par 72 and remained -1 for the tournament, ranking ninth individually.

The Firecliff course at Desert Willow played just less than a stroke easier for the top teams than yesterday's Mountain View course. CMS and Pomona-Pitzer have made their living with clean Par 4s as the third- and fourth-ranked squads over the majority of holes and have used their length on the drive to also crack the top 10 on Par 5s, though the leaders in the field are at -6 taking advantage of those scoring opportunities. CMS has also minimized damage on tougher holes with a field-low four double bogeys.

Both teams will get later starts tomorrow as CMS begins teeing off at Hole 1 in the 7:50 a.m. group and Pomona-Pitzer on Hole 10 at 8:20 a.m.