FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 12, 2024) – The tournament the Northern Arizona University women's golf team works for all year is just around the corner. The 2024 Big Sky Conference Championships take place from April 15-17 at The Wigwam Golf Club in Litchfield, Ariz., at the Blue Course.
All 10 conference teams begin teeing off with a single-round of 18 holes at 6:30 a.m. Mountain Standard time each day. Live scoring will be available on
Golfstat and Sacramento State will serve as this year's host.
Representing the Lumberjacks in the lineup will be
Lizzie Neale,
Amy Hodgkins,
Ellena Slater,
Frankie Dezis and
Nina Lukyanenko.
Northern Arizona won the 2022 Big Sky Conference Championship and finished fourth at last year's championship after shooting an 882 (+18). Neale led the way by tying for seventh place after shooting two-over par with a 218.
The Lumberjacks were picked to finish second by the coaches in the Big Sky Preseason Poll behind the defending champions, Sacramento State. Heading into the championships, NAU is currently ranked second behind the Hornets.
NAU has won two tournaments as a team this Spring at the Mountain Classic Match Play and the Red Rocks Invitational. Northern Arizona was last in action on April 3-4 at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic where it finished 11
th as a team after shooting 34-over par with 898 strokes through three rounds.
Neale leads the Lumberjacks with a scoring average of 72.29 and has finished in the top-20 in six different events this year. She has recorded two rounds in the sixties and 13 rounds at par or better so far during her sophomore year.
Hodgkins is a true freshman and ranks second on the team with a scoring average of 72.92, earning 12 rounds at par or better this year with four in the sixties. Slater is a sophomore and finished tied for 24
th at least year's championships. This season, she has finished in the top-20 three times with a scoring average of 74.35, earning 10 rounds at par or better.
The lineup is rounded out by Dezis, a freshman, who has eight rounds at par or better this year and owns a scoring average of 74.81. Lukyanenko has a scoring average of 76.22.
As a team, the Lumberjacks are averaging 293.79 strokes per round with 51 individual rounds at par or better.
The winner of the Big Sky Championships will advance on to NCAA Regionals from May 6-8.
