| SCHEDULE |
Monday, Feb. 27 | 8 a.m. Shotgun Start (Rounds 1 and 2) |
|
Tuesday, Feb. 28 | 8 a.m. Shotgun Start (Round 3) |
| COURSE |
GCU Golf Course | Phoenix, Ariz. |
| PAR | YARDAGE |
Par 72 | 6,171 Yards (Rounds 1 and 2), Par 72 | 6,100 Yards (Round 3) |
| FIELD |
Grand Canyon (hosts), UC Riverside, Northern Arizona, North Dakota, Eastern Washington, Northern Colorado, Marshall, Seattle U, Montana State, North Dakota State, Utah Valley, Tarleton, Southern Utah, University of Louisiana Monroe, Delaware, UTEP and Idaho. |
|
Live Results (Golfstat) |
| FOLLOW US |
NAU Golf on Facebook | NAU Golf on Twitter | NAU Golf on Instagram |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 24, 2023) – After a successful start to the Spring season, the Northern Arizona University women's golf team resumes action this week at the GCU Invitational in Phoenix, Ariz. The two-day tournament begins on Monday, Feb. 27 and concludes on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at the GCU Golf Course.
The Lumberjacks will tee off with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. Mountain Standard time on both days, playing in a 17-team field with 36 holes total for the first and second round on Monday (par-72, 6,171 yards) and 18 holes for the third round on Tuesday (par-72, 6,100 yards).
Northern Arizona will face off against four Big Sky Conference squads in Eastern Washington, Northern Colorado, Montana State, and Idaho, along with UC Riverside, North Dakota, Marshall, Seattle U, North Dakota State, Utah Valley, Tarleton, Southern Utah, University of Louisiana Monroe, Delaware, UTEP and the hosts Grand Canyon.
The Lumberjacks, ranked at No. 121 in the recent Golfstat National Rankings, are the sixth-highest ranked team in the field behind Delaware (No. 104), UTEP (No. 107), Louisiana Monroe (No. 114), Grand Canyon (No. 117) and Seattle U (No. 118).
In the lineup for the Lumberjacks are freshman
Ellena Slater, senior
Lorel Hayward, freshman
Lizzie Neale, fifth-year
Aleksandra Chekalina, and fifth-year
Ashley Croft. Freshman
Nina Lukyanenko and junior
Ekaterina Malakhova will be competing as individuals.
This is the fifth-straight season that NAU has competed at the GCU Invitational, finishing sixth out of 19 teams last season with a score of 887 (+23). Malakhova led the 'Jacks after tying for 12
th, shooting 218 (+2) and has a career average of 73.3 on the course after six rounds. The 'Jacks finished 15
th and 10
th at the invitational in 2019 and 2020 and earned a fourth-place finish in 2021.
This will be the fifth time Chekalina and Croft have competed in the GCU Invitational and the third for Hayward. Chekalina finished tied for 23
rd last season after shooting a 222 (+6) and has a career average of 74.1 through 11 career rounds on the course. Croft's career average is 75.1 after finishing tied for 68
th last year with a 232 (+16). Hayward finished tied for 62
nd last season with a 231 (+15), and owns a career average of 79.
The GCU Invitational marks NAU's second competition of the Spring. The Lumberjacks opened the slate with a runner-up finish at the Mountain Classic Match Play, hosted by Boise State and Wyoming in Palm Desert, Calif. NAU was ranked No. 3 in the competition and advanced to the finals after topping No. 6 Southern Utah 4-1-0 in the quarterfinals and No. 2 Boise State 4-0-1 in the semifinals. Northern Arizona faced No. 1 Nevada in the finals, falling 4-0-1. Neale earned the lone point for NAU in the finals, and in return, she earned her first career Big Sky Golfer of the Week award.
After this week, NAU will scrimmage Harvard on March 15 at the Oakcreek Golf Club in Sedona, Ariz. The Lumberjacks then host the Red Rocks Invitational from March 18-19 at the Oakcreek Golf Club in Sedona. NAU finished runner-up in the tournament last year after shooting an 871 (+7).
