Freshman Ana Paula Valdes shot a 3-under par 69 to help Clemson climb to 4th place at the Athens NCAA Regional. (file photo)

The Clemson Tigers tied for the best team score in the second round of the NCAA Regional in Athens, Ga.

Clemson and Baylor each shot rounds of 6-under par 282 to move into the top-six at the tournament.

The top-six teams advance to the NCAA Women’s Championship.

Clemson moved up seven spots in the second round into fourth place. Alabama, Baylor and Michigan State are in front of Clemson.

“We needed to execute better than we did in the first round and we did that across the board,” said Clemson coach Kelley Hester.  “It was a total team effort,” she said.

Clemson is five shots behind third place Michigan and trails Alabama, the tournament leader, by 13 shots going into the final round.

A pair of freshmen posted the best scores for the Tigers in the second round. Freshman Ana Paula Valdes shot a 3-under par 69.

Her score was a 10-shot improvement over the first round and moved Valdes up 37 spots in the individual standings.

Freshman Kennedy Swann shot a 2-under par 70 to help Clemson tie Baylor for the best team total of the day. (file photo)

Kennedy Swann, who joined the program after the first of the year, shot a 2-under par 70 and moved up 34 spots in the individual standings.

The two Clemson newcomers are tied for 30th.

Alice Hewson shot an even par round of 72 and dropped back one spot to third place going into the final round.

Sydney Legacy was the fourth Tiger to shoot par or better when she carded a 1-under par 71.

“All five players fought hard all day.  We just have to keep competing tomorrow,” said Hester.

Northwestern and Tennessee trail the Tigers by two shots. Georgia, Arizona, Augusta and North Carolina round out the top-10.

Former Clemson golfer Lauren Stephenson now at Alabama is in second place one shot behind Jennifer Kupcho of Wake Forrest.