Amelia Garibaldi's first competitive day for San Diego State left her one stroke from the lead and the Aztecs within the top third of the field. The Fresno State transfer shot 70 and 73 at TPC Louisiana on Tuesday, reaching one under par through 36 holes at the Tulane Classic.
Garibaldi was tied for second with Tulane's Francesca Pompa at 143. Southern Mississippi's Louise Cuyvers led the 70-player field at two under after rounds of 67 and 75. The one-shot gap is the immediate number for Wednesday's decisive final round; the distribution behind it is nearly as tight, with two players another two strokes back at one over.
The opener supplied Garibaldi's cleanest stretch. She made four birdies across her final 11 holes and signed for a two-under 70. A one-over 73 followed in the afternoon. Across both rounds she recorded 26 pars and four bogeys, totals that tied for second-best in the field in those categories, according to SDSU's results summary.
Two newcomers carried much of San Diego State's counting score. Emilia Nordström opened with a 73 and followed with 75, placing her in a tie for 13th at four over. A debut round can expose unfamiliarity with a lineup and course; here, the two additions supplied the team's best aggregate cards. Together they accounted for 291 of the 598 strokes listed in SDSU's two-round team total.
Ema Narita changed direction after lunch. SDSU's leading returner improved from a first-round 78 to a 75 and ended the day tied for 29th. Kylie Warner sat one shot behind Narita at 10 over. Fia Lindblom's 81-79 did not count toward the team total, while Emilia Omander competed as an individual and posted 80-81.
The Aztecs matched 299 in both rounds for a 598 total, 22 over par. That put them level with Georgia State in fourth among 12 teams. Host Tulane led at 586 after consecutive 293s, seven shots ahead of Southern Mississippi and nine clear of Samford. Catching the leader would require a large swing; protecting a top-five finish begins with separating from the tie.
Conditions interrupted the second round briefly when lightning moved into the area. The suspension did not prevent the field from completing 36 holes. TPC Louisiana played at 6,276 yards and par 72 for the tournament, a layout where water and weather can turn positional gains into larger score changes.
SDSU's release initially summarized Garibaldi as tied for the lead, but its detailed results table placed Cuyvers alone at 142 and Garibaldi tied for second at 143. The table also listed the Aztecs tied for fourth, not fifth. Those standings are the operative figures entering the last round.
Wednesday offers Garibaldi a compact assignment: one stroke to erase, 18 holes to manage and no need to manufacture a charge on the first tee. For the team, the chase is longer in its first tournament of the season. San Diego State must first win the tight cluster around fourth before it can meaningfully pressure Tulane's 12-shot advantage.