FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (October 22, 2021) – For the second consecutive year, the Northern Arizona golf team is heading to Boulder City, Nevada as they host their first tournament this season. The Clash at Boulder Creek wraps up the fall season for the Lumberjacks as they host 17 other schools at the Boulder Creek Golf Club, playing 18 holes each on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday (par-72, 6,309 yards). The first round will begin with a shotgun start at 11:30 a.m. MST.
This is the second-ever Clash at Boulder Creek, with the Jacks finishing 12th last fall. Now alumni
Elle Kocourkova was the top finisher for NAU, tying for 28th after finishing 8-over par.
Ekaterina Malakhova had a strong third round a year ago, tallying three birdies in the final round to finish 2-under on the round and 10-over par overall to tie for 36
th place.
Ellena Slater will play in the top spot for NAU after her team-leading performance at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate. The freshman shot one round even-par to finish 3-over par 219, tying for 25th. The previous week, she finished tied for 32nd at the Golfweek Red Sky Classic, shooting her final round 2-under par.
Senior Aleksandra
Chekalina has been a solid competitor so far this season for the Lumberjacks and will occupy the second spot in the lineup. She tied for eighth place at the Coeur D'alene Resort Collegiate to open the season, shooting one round in the 60s to finish even-par 213. The following week, Chekalina shot 6-over par 222 at the Golfweek Red Sky Classic to tie for 32nd place.
Chekalina leads the team with an average of 72.89 strokes per round, a career low by more than two strokes. Freshmen
Lizzie Neale and Slater are tied for second in stroke average, both averaging 74.11 strokes per round. Neale has had a team-high four par or better rounds so far this fall, with two coming at the Ron Moore Invitational.
Neale will be playing in the third spot in Boulder City, coming off her best performance of the season. She finished tied for 25th at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate, tying teammate
Ellena Slater to lead the team. Neale finished the tournament 3-over par 219 after shooting even-par in the last two rounds. The previous week, she finished 6-over par 222 to tie for 32nd place at the Golfweek Red Sky Classic.
Lorel Hayward and
Ekaterina Malakhova will round out the fourth and fifth spots in the lineup for the Jacks. Hayward is coming off her strongest performance this season, tying for 32nd place at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate. She shot two rounds even-par 72, finishing 4-over par on the tournament. Malakhova has only played in one tournament this season, tying for 84th place after shooting 23-over par 239.
Competing individually will be Nina Lukyaneko and
Ashley Croft. They will not contribute to the team score, but will play for the individual title.
The Lumberjacks are fresh off a two-week break following the Ron Moore Intercollegiate in Highlands Ranch, Colorado where they tied for ninth place in a field of 16 teams. The team shot 15-over par 879 (292-290-297), improving by 8 shots over their performance the previous week. NAU saw three golfers combine for five rounds even-par in their best overall performance this season.
Live scoring for The Clash at Boulder Creek will be available on
BirdieFire.
To stay up to date with the NAU golf team, follow the Lumberjacks on
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