ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (April 12, 2021) – The Northern Arizona golf team held steady in 10th to conclude the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational, closing the tournament with a 18-over par 306 on Monday. NAU finished its final tournament before next week's Big Sky Championship at 33-over par 897 (298-293-306).
"The weather was cold and windy starting out today and the course was playing very tough," said head coach
Brad Bedortha. "We struggled early but we got our feet underneath ourselves and played much better on the last nine holes. We knew this was going to be a tough tournament given the quality of teams, but overall I am happy with the way we played and I'm definitely excited heading into the conference championship."
The weather conditions made for a slow start for NAU, as the Lumberjacks' four counting golfers combined to shoot 17-over par on the back nine to start the day. However, the 'Jacks recovered on the front nine to go into the clubhouse with a combined 1-over par score over their final nine holes.
Denver went into the day tied with Pepperdine atop the team leaderboard, and emerged as the champions at even-par 864 (289-288-287). Grand Canyon's Carly Strole was the individual medalist at 8-under par 208 (69-70-69).
Freshman
Ekaterina Malakhova and junior
Ashley Croft led NAU's charge on the front nine, each shooting 2-under par and recording three birdies on the last nine holes.
Malakhova's play over the front nine pushed her towards a final round 75, as she recorded her best individual finish in a tie for eighth. It marked her second top 10 finish of the spring, while her 1-over par 217 (71-71-75) was her lowest 54-hole score by five strokes.
"Kate played very well," Bedortha said. "We knew that it was only a matter of time before she started shooting these kinds of scores."
Malakhova totaled a team-high 10 birdies over the two days and her final score of 217 is the second-best by a Lumberjack this spring behind only junior
Elle Kocourkova's 216 at the Arizona Wildcat Invitational.
Junior
Aleksandra Chekalina also shot a 3-over par 75 on Tuesday, tying her with Malakhova for NAU's best score on the day. Kocourkova and Croft both shot 6-over par 78 to round out the Lumberjacks' counting scores.
Overall, Kocourkova was NAU's next-best finisher in a tie for 38th at 10-over par 226 (77-71-78). Croft (73-76-78) and Chekalina (77-75-75) tied for 40th at 11-over par 227.
Graduate student
Klara Kucharova, at 24-over par 240 (80-79-81), and sophomore
Lorel Hayward, at 28-over par 244 (79-84-81), finished in 62nd and 66th respectively.
Next up for the Lumberjacks the 2021 Big Sky Championship next Monday through Wednesday, April 19-21, in Molalla, Ore. NAU will vie for its conference-leading ninth Big Sky title at Arrowhead Golf Club.
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Full Team Leaderboard
1. Denver – 289-288-287 = 864 (E)
2. Pepperdine – 290-287-290 = 867 (+3)
3. Washington – 284-294-293 = 871 (+7)
4. Grand Canyon – 295-288-289 = 872 (+8)
5. New Mexico – 290-294-289 = 873 (+9)
6. New Mexico State – 292-288-298 = 878 (+14)
7. Arizona – 292-292-295 = 879 (+15)
8. Kansas State – 290-290-309 = 889 (+25)
9. Colorado State – 290-292-313 = 895 (+31)
10. Northern Arizona – 298-293-306 = 897 (+33)
11. Wyoming – 320-303-317 = 940 (+76)
NAU Individual Scores
T8.
Ekaterina Malakhova – 71-71-75 = 217 (+1)
T38.
Elle Kocourkova – 77-71-78 = 226 (+10)
T40.
Ashley Croft – 73-76-78 = 227 (+11)
T40.
Aleksandra Chekalina – 77-75-75 = 227 (+11)
62.
Klara Kucharova – 80-79-81 = 240 (+24)
66.
Lorel Hayward – 79-84-81 = 244 (+28)*
* Playing as individual
