Golf Sets 36-Hole Program Record on First Day of the GCU Invitational

Player Results
Team Results

PHOENIX, Ariz. (February 27, 2023) – The Northern Arizona University women's golf team had a strong showing on day one of the GCU Invitational in Phoenix, Ariz., ending the day in second place and setting a 36-hole program record of 571 (-5). The Lumberjacks played the first two rounds at the GCU Golf Course, a 72-par, 6,171-yard, course and are just four strokes out of first place heading into the third and final round tomorrow.  
 
Northern Arizona shot a 288 in the first round and bettered the performance in the second after shooting a 283. NAU's second round score is the third lowest in program history, while the first-round score is tied for the 10^th lowest. The 36-hole total is the lowest since the 'Jacks set a then-program record of 575 at last year's Big Sky Conference Championships.
 
Freshman Lizzie Neale led the Lumberjacks with 140 strokes today, setting a career-low of 70 in each round to finish tied for third. Neale had a total of six birdies on the day, with four coming in the second round.
 
Aleksandra Chekalina is currently tied for sixth-place with 142 strokes. Chekalina started the day with a 74 in round one and improved by six strokes in round two, shooting a 68 with five birdies. The fifth-year's second round performance tied a career-low.
 
Ellena Slater played steady today as well and finishes the day tied for 14^th. The freshman shot a 73 and a 71 for a new career-low of 144 for 36 holes. Ashley Croft shot a season-low 71 in the opening round and followed with a 74, bringing her total to a season-low 145 to tie for 17^th.
 
Rounding out the Lumberjacks is Lorel Hayward, who improved from an 80 in the first round to a 74 in the second to finish tied for 59^th.
 
NAU is one of 17 teams, including four Big Sky teams, and enters round three tomorrow just four strokes behind fourth-place Louisiana Monroe and eight strokes ahead of the hosts, Grand Canyon.
 
Action begins at 8 a.m. Mountain Standard time, and can be followed here on Golfstat.