Oct 24, 2006 By Jim Downey 4 min read

Waynesburg Central’s Rachel Rohanna and Zach Schloemer, and Maria Battaglia of Laurel Highlands each had their own problems to deal with Monday, but all three remained in contention for a medal at the PIAA Golf Championships at Heritage Hills Golf Resort and Conference Center in York. Last year’s championship was cut to a single round because of rain, and while this year’s final was dry, the weather was cold and windy. The forecast for today’s final round expects to be the same.

Rohanna, who was one of three girls to share the gold medal last year, opened on the back nine with a 40 and finished the front with a 40 for an 8-over-par 80 to tie with five others for eighth place. Battaglia went out in 44 on the back, but recovered with a 38 on the front for an 82.

Elk County Catholic’s Emily Riddle had the best round of the day with a 2-over 74.

Schloemer was one of four boys to shoot a 4-over 75. Holy Name’s Nathan Sutherland and Westmont Hilltop’s Ben Wolfe were tied atop the leaderboard at 1-under 70.

Rohanna had her problems on the greens, finishing the opening round of the state finals with 37 putts.

“I missed four putts within four feet,” lamented Rohanna. “My putts weren’t going in. I couldn’t read (the greens). I was working too hard on them.

“It was little things. One bad shot turned into a couple strokes. I had a triple and double bogey. I played like (I shot) a 73.”

Despite the disappointing round, Rohanna was ready to attack today’s round.

“I was hoping to be within two strokes, three strokes max, of the leader. Six strokes, that’s going to be tough,” said Rohanna. “I’ll try to play like I did (Monday), just score better. I’ll stay within my swing.

“Hopefully, I’ll have more luck.”

Starting from No. 10, Battaglia opened with four pars but hit a snag when she hit into a hazard on consecutive shots and settled for a triple bogey. She also had a pair of double bogeys before recovering over the final 10 holes.

“I had four pars in a row and told myself ‘Hey, I’m going to have a good day,'” said Battaglia. “Three bad holes on the back (her front nine) killed me. I had trouble with my fairway woods and my driver; it was a little bit of both. I played well on the other 15 holes.

“I calmed down (after the bad stretch) and tried to make pars. I just tried to hit fairways and greens.”

The Laurel Highlands junior has a different attitude in her third trip to the state finals.

“The last two years I was just happy to be there. I came to be serious (this year),” said Battaglia, who will be in the first group at 8:30 a.m.”

Laurel Highlands golf coach Mike Smith was impressed with Battaglia’s round, as well as the other young golfers in the finals.

“Take away three bad holes and Maria shoots a 77,” said Smith. “This is a great experience. It’s fun to be around the kids. It’s great to see great golfers.”

Schloemer is hitting his stride at the right time, playing with confidence and his recent scores reflect his attitude. He, like his Raiders teammate, had his problems on the greens.

“I hit the ball really well,” said Schloemer, who was 2-over on both the front and back. “I was putting fairly poor. The pins were in bad spots. The greens were really big. I was on the wrong side.

“I had four 3-putts. That hurt me. I couldn’t get close to the hole on my long putts.”

Schloemer is making his first trip the state championship, but didn’t feel the pressure.

“I wasn’t nervous at all. I came out to play well and have some fun, and I did. I’m exceeding every expectation I have right now,” said Schloemer. “I’ll stick with the same game plan. I won’t put too much pressure on myself.”

“Zach seems he has a lot of confidence,” said Waynesburg Central coach John Garber. “He was a bit anxious, but he seemed ready to go.”

The general attitude of the players and coaches about the weather forecast is it would be cold and windy for everyone, so just deal with it.

“The balls were not flying as well. I had to drop down a club or two,” said Schloemer. “I like this weather. It eliminates most of the field. It plays games with their minds. I like more clothes. I feel more close with my swing.”

“I don’t think it affects me,” Battaglia said of the cold. “It affects everyone.”

“It was a tough day. I was cold and the wind was gusty. It was a tough day for everybody,” said Garber.

The top 10 girls and 16 boys are awarded medals.