LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. --- On a day where the majority of the field at the PacWest Golf Championships finished 30 strokes over par, the Biola Eagles kept enough pace with first-place Academy of Art to create separation from the rest of the pack headed into the final round.

Sami Penor played another solid round (77) after leading the field through the first round and held onto first place through the front nine on Tuesday. With Academy of Art's Anahi Servin shooting an eagle on 10 and carding a -5 in the second round, Penor will start the final day in third place and still within striking distance of the individual medal at the tournament.

Penor was joined in the top-six by Alexis Gopfert and Jules Loibl, who both carded 74's on Tuesday to help the Eagles improve on their first-round score by two strokes with a 301 on Tuesday. Loibl was on fire to start the day, with three birdies over her first four holes, and matched Gopfert's solid consistency in the round by closing her playthrough with three-straight pars to move into sole possession of fifth place.

Gopfert continued to sustain that PacWest Championship-level focus that she's demonstrated during the five rounds she's played at the Wigwam Golf Club over the past two years. On Tuesday, began her back nine with a birdie on 10 and rattled off seven-straight pars to walk away from hole 18 with a +2 overall mark and an even-par 36 strokes on the back nine.

That result ties Gopfert's best single-round score this season and sets her up for a second-consecutive strong finish at this tournament. After setting a season-best with a 76 in the second round at the 2018 PacWest Golf Championships, Gopfert played four strokes better on the final day to earn a top-10 finish. She'll start Wednesday in a tie for sixth with one other woman. 

Marcel Manalo was also crucial to the Eagles' success on day two with her 76 that turned out to be the Eagles second-best score of the day. While Point Loma's No. 2 was +11 on Tuesday, Manalo used birdies on 14 and 17 to improve upon her first playthrough by six strokes and create the big gap that now exists between second place and the rest of the field.

The Sea Lions came into the day just three strokes behind Biola. But the Eagles put their foot down today and now have a 21-stroke lead over the third place team. Coach Carr's group will be motivated to keep that lead so they can best their third-place finish at last year's championships. But priority number one is chasing down the Urban Knights team that shot an incredible 288 on Tuesday since Biola is the only team that can chase down ART U at this point.

With the caliber of play the Eagles have shown in the clutch and in final rounds this season, Wednesday is going to be a lot of fun. The final round is scheduled to start for Biola at about 12 noon.