SPRINGVILLE, Utah (September 13, 2021) – After a rough first round, the Northern Arizona golf team made a huge leap up the leaderboard by the end of Monday's opening action at the Hobble Creek Fall Classic. The Lumberjacks finished the day in fifth at 32-over par 600 (308-292) through 36 holes.
Led by graduate student
Kimberlee Tottori, who had a spectacular start to her career as a Lumberjack, NAU moved up four spots – the biggest jump of any team in the second round – after residing in ninth at the end of the first 18 holes. The Lumberjacks' second round 292 was the second-best score of the round and third-best overall score of the day.
"Kimmy played very well and it's exciting to see her compete for the Lumberjacks," said head coach
Brad Bedortha. "She put herself in a great position and I'm looking forward to seeing her play tomorrow. As a team we really struggled in the morning round and it was nice to see us put together a good second round. We have a chance to have a good round tomorrow and finish on a positive note."
Gonzaga leads the field headed into Tuesday's final round at 17-over par 585 (291-294), four strokes ahead of Boise State (294-295). Cal Poly is in third at 22-over par 590 (300-290) and Weber State is in fourth – directly ahead of NAU – at 25-over par 593 (295-298).
Tottori, the Seattle graduate transfer in her NAU debut, finds herself in second individually just one stroke behind Gonzaga's Chaewon Baek. Tottori fired a 1-over par 143 (72-71) with six birdies and 23 pars on the day. Tottori is vying to become the first Lumberjack to win medalist honors at a tournament since Sofia Anokhina won the 2018 Red Rocks Invitational.
Tottori's even par 71 set the tone for an outstanding second round by NAU, in which all six Lumberjack golfers improved on their first round scores. Along seniors
Ashley Croft and
Aleksandra Chekalina's 2-over par 73s and senior
Elle Kocourkova's 4-over par 75, NAU's 292 was the team's best round in two years, coincidentally matching its 292 in the second round at Hobble Creek in 2019.
Chekalina, who has a pair of top 10 career finishes at Hobble Creek, is tied for 17th overall at 6-over par 148 (75-73), while Croft is tied for 29th at 9-over 151 (78-73).
Kocourkova, along with sophomore
Ekaterina Malakhova, both bounced back in the second round after posting identical 12-over par 83s in the morning. Shooting 75 and 77 respectively in the afternoon, Kocourkova is tied for 64th at 16-over par 158 and Malakhova is in a tie for 76th at 18-over par 160.
Junior
Lorel Hayward, playing as an individual, is right in between the two of them in a tie for 71st at 17-over par 159 (82-77).
As a team, NAU totaled 114 pars, just one off of Weber State's tournament-lead, with Chekalina pacing the 'Jacks with 26. Chekalina's 26 pars are also one off the tournament lead. Tottori accounted for six of NAU's 11 birdies on Monday.
Tuesday's third and final round will tee off with a shotgun start at 7 a.m. MST. Live results can be found on
Golfstat.
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Full Team Leaderboard
1. Gonzaga – 291-294 = 585 (+17)
2. Boise State – 294-295 = 589 (+21)
3. Cal Poly – 300-290 = 590 (+22)
4. Weber State – 295-298 = 593 (+25)
5. Northern Arizona – 308-292 = 600 (+32)
6. Wyoming – 304-297 = 601 (+33)
7. Seattle – 298-304 = 602 (+34)
T8. Northern Colorado – 307-297 = 604 (+36)
T8. Utah Valley – 299-305 = 604 (+36)
10. Southern Utah – 310-297 = 607 (+39)
11. Dixie State – 310-311 = 621 (+53)
12. CSUN – 313-309 = 622 (+54)
13. Montana State – 316-308 = 624 (+56)
14. Portland State – 320-309 = 629 (+61)
T15. UTRGV – 317-318 = 635 (+67)
T15. Idaho State – 314-321 = 635 (+67)
17. CSU Bakersfield – 314-324 = 638 (+70)
NAU Individual Scores
2.
Kimberlee Tottori – 72-71 = 143 (+1)
T17.
Aleksandra Chekalina -75-73 = 148 (+6)
T29.
Ashley Croft – 78-73 = 151 (+9)
T64.
Elle Kocourkova – 83-75 = 158 (+16)
T71.
Lorel Hayward* – 82-77 = 159 (+17)
T76.
Ekaterina Malakhova – 83-77 = 160 (+18)
* Playing as individual
