Trojans sit in 11th place at nationals
- DeLong in a tie for 14th place
- Final 2 rounds set for Thursday, Friday
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The NIACC women's golf team sits in 11th place halfway through the NJCAA Division II National Championship after Wednesday's round at the Ol' Colony Golf Course.
NIACC shot a 358 on Wednesday for a two-day total of 367-358 - 725 heading into Thursday's third round. Defending national champion Shelton State CC is the mid-way leader with rounds of 320-317 - 637 and Murray State is in second with rounds of 321-325 - 646.
DMACC is in 10th place with rounds of 350-353 - 703 and Iowa Central is in 12th place with rounds of 376-352 - 728.
"Overall, we played better as a team (Wednesday). but the course is very difficult to score on," NIACC coach Chris Frenz said, "as indicated by all the scores in the field."
NIACC sophomore Meghan DeLong, a returning all-American, is in a tie for 14th place in the individual medalist competition with rounds of 83-82 - 165. DeLong's 82 on Wednesday is tied for the fourth best round at a national tournament in the Frenz era, which began in 2007.
DeLong, who prepped at Clear Lake, owns five of the top seven rounds at the national tournament in the Frenz era.
"She's played well overall," Frenz said, "but a few mistakes here and there have cost her.
"She's certainly not out of the mix yet with 36 holes to go. She thrives on this type of competition and she's going to battle until it's over."
DeLong is four shots out of 10th place heading into Thursday's third round. Murray State's Paula Gorostiaga is in 10th place with rounds of 79-82 - 161.
Shelton State's Emma Bark (76-76 - 152) and Southern Union State CC's Kylee Lynn (70-82 - 152) share the mid-way lead.
NIACC freshmen Audrey Overgaard (94-90 - 184) and Avery Knutsen (92-92 - 184) are in a tie for 55th place.
"Audrey Overgaard and Avery Knutsen played well (Wednesday)," Frenz said, "and when a few more putts go in, they'll break into the 80s."
Also for the Trojans, sophomore Kenedee Frayne has shot rounds of 98-99 - 197 and sophomore Addy Boell has shot rounds of 112-94 - 206.
"Kenedee Frayne, honestly, hit the ball well (Wednesday)," Frenz said, "and just didn't get rewarded and ended up in some tough spots and her putter let her down a bit."
Boell improved her round by 18 shots on Wednesday.
"It was great to see Addy Boell bounce back with a quality round (Wednesday) after an extremely difficult day (Tuesday)," Frenz said.
The third round of the 4-day national tournament is slated for Thursday with the final 18 holes set for Friday.
