COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (September 18, 2022) – The Northern Arizona golf team concluded the first day of the Coeur d'Alene Resort Collegiate Invitational in 15th on the leaderboard after posting a 15-over par 299. The Lumberjacks were led by fifth-year
Aleksandra Chekalina and freshman
Lizzie Neale, who both carded 2-over par 73 and are tied for 24th individually.
Neale, playing in the top spot in the lineup, opened with three bogeys through her first four collegiate holes before settling in. After a par on 13, Neale recorded her first career birdie on the par-3 14 to start a stretch playing 3-under over her next 11 holes. Neale registered three birdies on the day and got back to even-par with three holes remaining before two bogeys concluded her day at 2-over par.
Like Neale, Chekalina bounced back after a slow start playing bogey-free over her last 11 holes. Sitting at 5-over par through her first seven holes, Chekalina's climb back began with a birdie on the par-4 17. Her birdie was the first of three she recorded the rest of the round to go along with eight pars as she shot up the leaderboard and ultimately tied Neale for team-best honors.
NAU's three remaining golfers also had solid stretchers over the course of the first day at Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course. Freshman
Nina Lukyanenko is tied for 63rd after carding a 5-over par 76 in her collegiate debut, while senior
Lorel Hayward and freshman
Ellena Slater are tied for 71st at 6-over par 77.
Lukyanenko recorded par on five straight holes to close out the back nine and then birdied 1, 2 and 4 after the turn. Lukyanenko shot 3-under during a 10-hole stretch to get back to 2-over par before three consecutive bogeys put her back at 5-over. The freshman righted the ship though and capped her day with two pars.
Hayward's best stretch occurred immediately before and after the turn at 18. She registered eight consecutive pars on the final four holes of the back nine and the first four holes on the front nine.
Meanwhile, Slater was exceptional to start her first tournament as a Lumberjack shooting 1-over par through 13 holes. A quadruple bogey on the par-3 5 ultimately dampened an otherwise solid day before she played her final four holes to 1-over par.
As a team, NAU logged 52 pars and 12 birdies with the latter being four off of the tournament-lead. Chekalina, Lukyanenko and Neale posted a team-high three birdies, while Chekalina, Hayward and Slater recorded a team-best 11 pars.
The Lumberjacks will tee off the second round on Monday with an 8 a.m. shotgun start.
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Full Team Leaderboard
1. Sacramento State – 284 (E)
2. Oral Roberts – 286 (+2)
3. Nevada – 287 (+3)
4. Gonzaga – 289 (+5)
T5. Seattle – 291 (+7)
T5. San Francisco – 291 (+7)
T7. Grand Canyon – 294 (+10)
T7. Long Beach State – 294 (+10)
T7. Georgetown – 294 (+10)
T7. UC Riverside – 294 (+10)
T11. Cal State Fullerton – 295 (+11)
T11. Wyoming – 295 (+11)
T13. Northern Illinois – 296 (+12)
T13. Cincinnati – 296 (+12)
15. Northern Arizona – 299 (+15)
16. Santa Clara – 300 (+16)
17. Florida International – 301 (+17)
18. Hawai'i – 305 (+21)
19. Southern Utah – 306 (+22)
NAU Individual Scores
T24.
Lizzie Neale – 73 (+2)
T24.
Aleksandra Chekalina – 73 (+2)
T63.
Nina Lukyanenko – 76 (+5)
T71.
Lorel Hayward – 77 (+6)
T71.
Ellena Slater – 77 (+6)
