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Stephanie Meadow battled the wind and rain at Ballybunion to lead the qualifiers into the match play stage of the Irish women's close championship.
The 21-year-old 2012 British Ladies champion, and star member of the Alabama University team, fired a six- under-par 67 in her second round on one of Ireland's toughest links courses.
That gave her a 36-hole aggregate of 139, all of 10 strokes fewer than Slieve Russell teenager Leona Maguire, who beat her in last year's Irish final.
Leona's twin sister Lisa had a disastrous opening round of 86, but a second-round 77 for an aggregate of 163 gave Lisa a spot among the 32 qualifiers.
Maria Dunne, who was disqualified from last week's British Amateur Open for using a distance-measuring device, also made it through.
