SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (April 18, 2022) – In a season full of low rounds, the Northern Arizona golf team dropped another on the first day of the Big Sky Championship at Talking Stick Golf Club on Monday. NAU finished the opening round at even-par 288, good for second on the team leaderboard behind the defending champion Sacramento State, with sophomore
Ekaterina Malakhova tying for the top individual spot.
For just the second time in program history, NAU shot even-par at the conference championship. The only previous even-par round by the Lumberjacks came during the 1997 Big Sky Championship, when they sealed up the conference title with an even-par 292 on the par-73 course.
The even-par 288 ties the eighth-lowest round in program history in relation to par. The 'Jacks have now posted four of the eight lowest rounds in program history this season.
"We played very solid all day," said head coach
Brad Bedortha. "We hit a lot of good shots and we competed very well. I'm very proud of the way we performed and we wanted to give ourselves a chance. After the first round, we are right there."
The Lumberjacks go into the second round two strokes behind the Hornets, who fired a 2-under par 286. Weber State is in third at 5-over par 293 with Idaho in fourth at 11-over par 299.
Leading the way for the Lumberjacks was Malakhova, who matched her career-low round of 4-under par 68 to sit in a tie with the Big Sky Golfer of the Year Jennifer Koga of Sacramento State atop the individual leaderboard. As she has now done twice this year, she came up one stroke shy of the lowest round in program history.
Malakhova, behind a tournament-high tying five birdies, posted the lowest round by a Lumberjack at the Big Sky Championship in 11 years. Bethany Leclair, one of two NAU golfers to ever fire a school record 5-under par 67, holds the program's all-time low round at the conference tournament in 2011.
Fresh off her second consecutive Big Sky All-Conference First Team honor, Malakhova shot 2-under par on both the front and back nine with just a single bogey on the day. Following her bogey on hole 6, Malakhova played the final 12 holes to 4-under par.
"Obviously Kate had a tremendous day and she's been playing so well," Bedortha said. "She competes at a very high level and has worked hard on keeping a great attitude."
Tied for seventh overall and recording the Lumberjacks' next two counting scores were senior
Aleksandra Chekalina and junior
Lorel Hayward. Both golfers shot 1-over par 73 with Hayward's 73 being her lowest career round at the Big Sky Championship. Chekalina and Hayward both went into the turn at even-par before going 1-over on the back nine.
Chekalina finished the day with three birdies, only trailing Malakhova's total on the team, while Hayward tallied two.
Senior
Elle Kocourkova, who like Malakhova was named to the Big Sky All-Conference First Team earlier on Monday, was NAU's final counting scorer at 2-over par 74, good for a tie for 13th. Kocourkova played the front nine to 1-under par with a pair of birdies.
Senior
Ashley Croft, who is tied for 45th at 8-over par 80, will be the first Lumberjack golfer to tee off on Tuesday's second round at 9:30 a.m. Paired with Sacramento State and Weber State, NAU will send out Kocourkova (9:40 a.m.), Hayward (9:50 a.m.), Chekalina (10 a.m.) and Malakhova (10:10 a.m.) in succession following Croft.
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Full Team Leaderboard
1. Sacramento State – 286 (-2)
2. Northern Arizona – 288 (E)
3. Weber State – 293 (+5)
4. Idaho – 299 (+11)
5. Eastern Washington – 301 (+13)
6. Montana State – 304 (+16)
7. Idaho State – 308 (+20)
T8. Southern Utah – 309 (+21)
T8. Montana – 309 (+21)
T10. Northern Colorado – 312 (+24)
T10. Portland State – 312 (+24)
NAU Individual Scores
T1.
Ekaterina Malakhova – 68 (-4)
T7.
Aleksandra Chekalina – 73 (+1)
T7.
Lorel Hayward – 73 (+1)
T13.
Elle Kocourkova – 74 (+2)
T45.
Ashley Croft – 80 (+8)
