Lumberjacks Post Highest Finish of the Fall, Match Tournament Record in Clash at Boulder Creek

BOULDER CREEK, Nev. (October 25, 2022) - On the final day of fall competition, the Northern Arizona Golf team stormed into 6th place at The Clash at Boulder Creek to post the lowest round this season at 3-under par, and tie the highest finish this season at 15-over par 879 (302-296-285).
 
"It was definitely a good day," Lumberjacks head coach Brad Bedortha said. "We struggled the first round a little bit and struggled quite a bit but today we bounced back and played very well. Great to finish on a positive note, our team has the ability to post really good scores and be competitive."
 
Before this morning, the Lumberjacks sat in a tie for eighth place with UC Irvine at 18-over par. While most of the competition struggled, NAU strung together its best performance throughout the third day as three golfers finished at par or better. This resulted in matching the program's 54-hole tournament record which they set just a few weeks prior at Denver's Ron Moore Intercollegiate.
 
Nevada took home both the team and individual title, running away with victory at 25-under par, 16 strokes above Long Beach State. Their one-two pairing of Victoria Gailey and Anitra Khoth concluded the day at nine-under par and seven-under par respectively.
 
Senior Lorel Hayward continued to bring the heat after yesterday's scorching performance, closing out the tournament with a final round of 69, putting her at 2-under par 214 (74-71-69). With this, she recorded new career bests for 18 and 54-hole scores.
 
Hayward also managed to crack the individual leaderboard top 10 for just the second time here at NAU, settling in a dead even draw for ninth place alongside Cal State Fullerton's Davina Xanh.
 
"It was a very impressive performance by Lorel," Bedortha said. "She played here as a freshman and had a horrible time and stated this was her least favorite golf course. To see how much she has matured as a person and golfer truly shows a lot about the person she is and [I] couldn't be prouder."
 
Taking inspiration from her upperclassmen teammate, Freshman Lizzie Neale kept chipping away and posted a one-under par 226 (79-76-71), a huge improvement from her 79 on the first day. Birdies on holes 10 and 14 helped counteract a bogey on the 13th as she proceeded to par the entire rest of the course. Fifth year Aleksandra Chekalina rebounded from a tough second day, and a harsh front nine to birdie two of the last five holes and finish at even-par 227 (74-81-72).
 
Junior Ekaterina Malakhova played steadily throughout the final match day, documenting two birdies on the back nine to close the round at one-over par 225 (75-77-73). Rounding out the lineup was freshman Ellena Slater. Consistent as always she ended the tournament with a three-over par 221 (72-75-74).
 
Together, NAU managed 168 pars, the reason for most of their success and where they made up strokes on the rest of the field. Neale topped the roster with 37 on her own. The par three and par five prowess came on the backs of Slater and Hayward who found themselves in the top five for either category, averaging 2.83 and 4.42.
 
The Clash at Boulder Creek marks the end of NAU's fall season, which featured two top 10 finishes and few record book alterations. 
 
"It has been two straight months of golf, team, etc and now the girls need a much needed breather and break for some nice recovery," Bedortha said. "Definitely excited for the future of the program and believe we are doing all the right things to continue to get better."
 
After the holiday break, NAU will resume the season with its first tournament of the spring on Feb. 13 and 14 at Boise State's Mountain Classic Match Play.
 
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