TUCSON, Ariz. (March 8, 2021) – In a field stacked with nationally-ranked teams, the Northern Arizona golf team more than held their own on the first day of the Arizona Wildcat Invitational, sitting in 10th on the team leaderboard at 24-over par 600 (295-305).
Spurred by their best round of the season so far, NAU is two strokes directly ahead of No. 35 Colorado, as well as top 80 teams in UNLV, Nebraska and Iowa. Texas leads the field at Sewailo Golf Club at 14-under par 562 (275-287) with No. 3 USC and No. 7 Oklahoma State also shooting under par on Monday in second and third respectively.
NAU actually shared the lead early on Monday as juniors
Ashley Croft and
Elle Kocourkova each converted a pair of birdies in their first five holes. The strong starts by the two Lumberjacks, along with classmate
Aleksandra Chekalina's steady play, were the catalysts for NAU's low 18 of the season at 7-over par 295.
Kocourkova and Chekalina both shot even-par 72 in the opening round with Kocourkova totaling three birdies and three bogeys, while Chekalina parred 16 of 18 holes including her last eight. The two Lumberjacks tied for 21st at the end of the round with Croft's 2-over par 74 putting her in a tie for 38th.
Both freshman
Ekaterina Malakhova and graduate student
Klara Kucharova shot 5-over par 77 to round out the morning 18.
The 'Jacks maintained their standing in 10th throughout the second round despite recording a 17-over par 305 to conclude the day.
After a rocky start to the second round, Kocourkova settled in with three straight birdies on 15, 16 and 17 on her way to a 2-over par 74. Kocourkova registered five birdies in all in the second round – and eight for the day – as she resides in a tie for 20th at 2-over par 146 (72-74) heading into Tuesday.
Matching her 2-over par 74 in the second round was Croft, who rode four second round birdies to a two-round score of 4-over par 148 (74-74). Croft is second on the team and tied for 28th on the leaderboard.
Kocourkova and Croft found success on the par-3 holes, leading all players in par-3 scoring. Kocourkova is 3-under par on those holes, while Croft is 2-under par.
Chekalina is tied for 45th at 7-over par 151 (72-79), while Malakhova is tied for 59th at 11-over par 155 (77-78) and Kucharova is tied for 67th at 13-over par 157 (77-80).
Despite a tough second round, Chekalina is tied for third amongst the field with 26 pars, playing a big role in NAU recording 108 pars through 36 holes. The Lumberjacks' 108 pars is tied with USC for third-most.
The Lumberjacks will take aim at a strong finish to the Wildcat Invitational with a shotgun start of 8 a.m. on Tuesday in Tucson.
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Full Team Leaderboard
1. Texas – 275-287 = 562 (-14)
2. USC – 279-291 = 570 (-6)
3. Oklahoma State – 287-286 = 573 (-3)
4. Oregon – 283-295 = 578 (+2)
T5. Iowa State – 292-296 = 588 (+12)
T5. Oregon State – 289-299 = 588 (+12)
T5. Arizona – 275-313 = 588 (+12)
8. Denver – 290-303 = 593 (+17)
9. New Mexico – 293-303 = 596 (+20)
10. Northern Arizona – 295-305 = 600 (+24)
11. Colorado – 302-300 = 602 (+26)
12. UNLV – 296-309 = 605 (+29)
13. New Mexico State – 305-304 = 609 (+33)
14. Nebraska – 307-304 = 611 (+35)
15. Long Beach State – 304-308 = 612 (+36)
16. Iowa – 313-308 = 621 (+45)
NAU Individual Scores
T20.
Elle Kocourkova – 72-74 = 146 (+2)
T28.
Ashley Croft – 74-74 = 148 (+4)
T45.
Aleksandra Chekalina – 72-79 = 151 (+7)
T59.
Ekaterina Malakhova – 77-78 = 155 (+11)
T67.
Klara Kucharova – 77-80 = 157 (+13)
