LAS CRUCES, N.M. (October 6, 2021) – Buoyed by an exceptional third and final round on Wednesday, the Northern Arizona golf team moved up two spots to finish fourth at the Aggie Invitational at 13-over par 877 (290-302-285). The Lumberjacks' 3-under par 285 was not only the low round of the day, but it tied for the second-best par-72 round in school history.
"It was a great day for the Lumberjacks," said head coach
Brad Bedortha. "After we struggled yesterday, we played great all day and it was great to finish the tournament by shooting the lowest round of the day. Individually, we had great scores led by Ekaterina (Malakhova) shooting 4-under par and birdieing her last hole. Ashley (Croft) and Elle (Kocourkova) both birdied their last holes which also helped a bunch."
With the 285, NAU has now shot two of its three-lowest rounds in the last two weeks. Last week, the 'Jacks opened the Golfweek Red Sky Classic with a school record 9-under par 279. The only other 285 in the record book occurred in the first round of the 2009 Grand Canyon Women's Fall Invitational.
Meanwhile, NAU's final score of 877 is the second-lowest ever on a par-72 course, only trailing the 7-over par 871 in the 2010 Lumberjack Shootout at Wigwam.
"I'm very proud of the team and really excited for our final tournament of the semester," Bedortha said. "The last two weeks have been busy with back-to-back tournaments. We will have a couple weeks to prepare for the tournament we are hosting in Las Vegas."
Individually, sophomore
Ekaterina Malakhova also had one of the program's best all-time performances. Entering the day in a tie for 19th, Malakhova leapt 13 spots to conclude the tournament in a tie for sixth after shooting a third round 4-under par 68.
Malakhova's career-best performance consisted of six birdies, the last coming on her final hole before heading into the clubhouse to put the stamp on her round. She is the second Lumberjack to fire a 68 this season, matching senior
Elle Kocourkova's score last week in Colorado.
Malakhova's final 1-under par 215 (73-74-68) tied the seventh-lowest 54-hole score in program history and is the second-lowest this season.
All four of NAU's scorers on Wednesday improved their individual position on the leaderboard with solid third rounds. Senior
Ashley Croft and graduate student
Kimberlee Tottori both shot even-par 72 and Kocourkova rounded out the scoring at 1-over par 73.
Croft's three third round birdies only trailed Malakhova, as she finished the tournament with a team-high 10 – six coming in the first round. Croft wound up in a tie for 11th at 2-over par 218 (70-76-72), her lowest score of her career.
Kocourkova (73-75-73) and Tottori (74-77-72) tied for 17th and 24th respectively at 5-over par 221 and 7-over par 223.
As an individual, junior
Lorel Hayward was the third Lumberjack with a career-best 54-hole score. After a final round 7-over par 79, Hayward finished at 17-over par 233 (77-77-79) in a tie for 70th.
Senior
Aleksandra Chekalina was NAU's final golfer in a tie for 82nd at 22-over par 238 (80-80-78).
Incarnate Word completed the wire-to-wire tournament victory, holding off New Mexico State on its home course. Incarnate Word claimed the team title with a three-round score of 1-under par 863 (282-290-291), one stroke better than New Mexico State's even-par 864 (288-288-288).
After playing in tournaments in consecutive weeks, the Lumberjacks will wrap up the fall semester by hosting The Clash at Boulder Creek in Boulder City, Nev. from Oct. 24-26. The Clash at Boulder Creek will be the Lumberjacks' first hosted fall tournament in 11 years.
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Full Team Leaderboard
1. Incarnate Word – 282-290-291 = 863 (-1)
2. New Mexico State – 288-288-288 = 864 (E)
3. Boise State – 286-292-298 = 876 (+12)
4. Northern Arizona – 290-302-285 = 877 (+13)
5. South Dakota State – 294-291-294 = 879 (+15)
6. Seattle – 289-293-298 = 880 (+16)
T7. UC Riverside – 301-291-298 = 890 (+26)
T7. Long Beach State – 295-297-298 = 890 (+26)
9. Santa Clara – 296-304-298 = 898 (+34)
10. UC Irvine – 303-296-306 = 905 (+41)
11. UTEP – 301-308-299 = 908 (+44)
12. Dixie State – 304-305-300 = 909 (+45)
13. UTRGV – 309-301-300 = 910 (+46)
14. UT Arlington – 302-310-304 = 916 (+52)
15. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi – 308-309-308 = 925 (+61)
T16. Southern Utah – 315-308-306 = 929 (+65)
T16. Montana State – 309-305-315 = 929 (+65)
18. North Dakota – 319-314-298 = 931 (+67)
19. Stephen F. Austin – 308-326-322 = 956 (+92)
20. CSU Bakersfield – 328-337-331 = 996 (+132)
NAU Individual Scores
T6.
Ekaterina Malakhova – 73-74-68 = 215 (-1)
T11.
Ashley Croft – 70-76-72 = 218 (+2)
T17.
Elle Kocourkova – 73-75-73 = 221 (+5)
T24.
Kimberlee Tottori – 74-77-72 = 223 (+7)
T70.
Lorel Hayward* – 77-77-79 = 233 (+17)
T82.
Aleksandra Chekalina – 80-80-78 = 238 (+22)
* Playing as individual
