WOLCOTT, Colo. (September 28, 2022) – The Northern Arizona golf team concluded the Golfweek Red Sky Classic with a bang, tying the seventh-lowest round in relation to par in program history on Wednesday. The Lumberjacks moved up three spots and finished 11th following a 1-under par 287 and wrapping up the three-day tournament at 23-over par 887 (295-305-287).
"The team didn't let what they shot yesterday affect the final day," said head coach
Brad Bedortha. "They came out and fought knowing they could move up the leaderboard. All of them handled themselves very well today. It was really nice to see our two freshmen shoot their first under-par round. This will give us momentum as a team going into our next event."
NAU's 1-under par 287 was tied for the fourth-lowest in the 20-team field on Wednesday. It was also the program's fifth under-par round since the start of last season after NAU carded just four such rounds over the previous 26 years.
Pepperdine, the highest-ranked team in the field according to last season's final Golfstat National Rankings, ran away with the team title at 18-under par 846 (285-279-282) with Kennesaw State a distant runner-up 15 strokes behind. The Lumberjacks were the top finishing Big Sky team ahead of Idaho (43-over par 907) and Northern Colorado (49-over par 913).
Pacing the Lumberjacks were their two freshmen,
Ellena Slater and
Lizzie Neale, who both carded their first career under-par rounds. Slater shot 2-under par 70, while Neale shot 1-under par 71. Both freshmen tallied four birdies.
Slater opened up her round with a birdie on her first hole of the day on 14 and later birdied 18 going into the turn. She would birdie 6 and 9 before heading back to the back nine where she recorded par on her final four holes to register NAU's second-lowest round in relation to par on the early season.
Three of Neale's four birdies came in her first 11 holes as she sat at 3-under par before a bogey on 6. Neale then bogeyed 10 and 11 before heading into her final hole of the tournament on the par-4 12. Neale closed the tournament with a birdie, which sealed her first-ever under-par round as a Lumberjack.
Fifth-year
Ashley Croft played her best round of the tournament on Wednesday, firing an even-par 72. She started out hot, recording birdies on three of her first four holes before eventually falling back to 2-over par with three holes remaining. Just as she started the day though, Croft finished with a flurry, recording birdies on 12 and 13 and ending the round with a par on 14 to pull back to even-par.
Senior
Lorel Hayward and fifth-year
Aleksandra Chekalina shot 2-over par 74 and 3-over par 75 respectively to round out NAU's outstanding day. Hayward recorded pars on nine of her first 10 holes and capped her round with a birdie on 12. Chekalina started and ended her round with bogeys, but in between played to just 1-over par with a pair of birdies.
Chekalina (74-73-75), Slater (74-78-70) and Neale (72-79-71) all tied for 32nd at 6-over par 222 as NAU's high finishers. Hayward tied for 54th at 9-over par 225 (75-76-74), while Croft moved up to a tie for 73rd at 14-over par 230 (80-78-72).
After playing two tournaments in consecutive weeks, the Lumberjacks will have a little break before continuing their fall season at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate hosted by Denver from Oct. 7-9.
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Full Team Leaderboard
1. Pepperdine – 285-279-282 = 846 (-18)
2. Kennesaw State – 289-292-280 = 861 (-3)
3. Colorado – 287-288-295 = 870 (+6)
4. East Tennessee State – 291-299-283 = 873 (+9)
T5. Xavier – 288-303-287 = 878 (+14)
T5. Washington State – 290-295-293 = 878 (+14)
T5. New Mexico State – 296-291-291 = 878 (+14)
8. Mercer – 289-300-291 = 880 (+16)
9. Delaware – 289-303-291 = 883 (+19)
10. Central Arkansas – 296-299-290 = 885 (+21)
11. Northern Arizona – 295-305-287 = 887 (+23)
12. Fresno State – 287-294-307 = 888 (+24)
T13. Incarnate Word – 301-296-295 = 892 (+28)
T13. Rutgers – 294-302-296 = 892 (+28)
15. Idaho – 304-313-290 = 907 (+43)
16. Little Rock – 293-315-302 = 910 (+46)
17. Northern Colorado – 306-312-295 = 913 (+49)
18. Eastern Michigan – 293-316-314 = 923 (+59)
19. Southern Illinois – 310-316-303 = 929 (+65)
20. Evansville – 323-330-303 = 956 (+92)
NAU Individual Scores
T32.
Aleksandra Chekalina – 74-73-75 = 222 (+6)
T32.
Ellena Slater – 74-78-70 = 222 (+6)
T32.
Lizzie Neale – 72-79-71 = 222 (+6)
T54.
Lorel Hayward – 75-76-74 = 225 (+9)
T73.
Ashley Croft – 80-78-72 = 230 (+14)
