GREENWOOD, SC -- Amy Johnson followed up her opening round 83 with a second-round 79 to lead all Elon players at the 2000 Palmetto Utility Protection Service Big South Conference Golf Championships at Greenwood Country Club on Tuesday.

Elon (324-322--646), the tournament's fourth seed, knocked two strokes off of its first-round tally, but dropped from second place to fourth due to strong second-round performances from Coastal Carolina (331-310--641) and Winthrop (328-315--643).

Favorite Charleston Southern (316-312--628) remains in the driver's seat. Radford (359-345--704) trails Elon in the five-team, 54-hole event.

Beth Frace (T6th, 78-80--158) and Laura Orlen (T9th, 81-80--161) continue to represent the Fightin' Christians in the top 10 of the 24-golfer field. Johnson (T11th, 83-79--162), Angela Baskette (T15th, 82-83--165) and Megan Tripp (18th, 84-87--171) still rank among the conference's top 20 leaders.

Coastal Carolina's Morgan O'Banion (77-76--153) and Charleston Southern's Patricia Martinson (74-79--153), the returning Big South medalist, are tied for the lead in the individual race. The third and final round will begin at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

--ELON--