Southwest Minnesota State University junior Krista Weiszhaar shot a 13-over par 85 in the second round of the NCAA Division II National Championships Thursday in Louisville, Ky., putting her in 52nd place in the 70-person field with a 28-over 172.
"Krista played a little bit better (Thursday)," SMSU head golf coach Ross Webskowski said. "She hit the ball like she usually does, so it was good to see her playing well. She had a couple of mental mistakes that cost her on a couple of holes, otherwise her score would have been a little bit better."
Daniela Ortiz from Nova Southeastern is currently the individual leader after shooting a 1-over 145 on the par 72, 6,283-yard Persimmon Ridge Golf Course. During the second round, Weiszhaar recorded eight pars, eight bogeys, one double-bogey and a triple-bogey.
"Overall, Krista had a completely different round," Webskowski said. "She played a lot better. The first day, she didn't hit the ball as well. (Thursday), her short game was not as good, but she definitely hit the ball better."
Webskowski is hoping that Weiszhaar can put it all together for the final two rounds of competition.
"She's half-way done and I think she's gotten a little more comfortable with the tournament," he said. "She knows she can score on this course. I think with the course set-up, she can get down in the 70s. Take out the two holes (Thursday), mentally she just made a couple of mistakes, and she'd have been close to the 70s. Hopefully she'll learn from that and put herself in that position tomorrow.
For Weiszhaar, the third round of competition will begin at 7:40 a.m. She's the third individual in SMSU history to advance to the championships, the first since 2004.