Golf in Sixth Place After Day One of Golfweek Red Sky Classic

VAIL, Colo. (Sept. 23, 2024) - The Northern Arizona women's golf team completed round one of the Golfweek Red Sky Classic today. The team is currently tied for sixth with a score of 290 (+2). Big Sky rivals Sacramento State sit at the top of the leaderboard with a score of 281 (-7).

The Lumberjacks teed off on the trickier side of the course this morning, starting on hole 10. After the first nine holes, the team was +9 and sat close to the bottom of the board. The second half of the round saw many more red numbers on scorecards, and Northern Arizona were able to climb half way up the field with a final score of +2 for the first round. 

Junior Lizzie Neale led the pack with the lowest round. After her first nine holes, she had two bogeys and two birdies to get to even par. The New Zealand native fired off three birdies on holes number two, three, and five. She would finish her day with a 69 (-3) and leave herself in a tie for fourth place individually. The individual leader is currently Cailtin Maurice of Sac State who shot a 65 (-7) with an eagle three on the par-five 18th hole.

Behind her was sophomore Frankie Desiz, who despite recording a double-bogey, finished off the day even par with 72. Desiz was +3 after the first nine holes and came back with four birdies and a bogey on the other side of the course, including a birdie on her last hole, the 178-yard par-three hole nine.  She also scored birdies on holes two, four, and seven. Currently, she stands tied for 20th in the individual race.

True Freshman Ava Bates shot a round of 74 (+2), playing in the starting lineup for the first time in her career. After starting +3 for the first nine holes, Bates made two birdies on her second nine, including on holes one and three. She sits tied for 34th on the individual leaderboard.

Ellena Slater is one shot behind Bates with a score of 75 (+3). The junior who hails from Kent, England, recorded birdies on the par-four third and sixth hole. She goes into the second round placing tied for 46th individually.

Fellow junior Nina Lukyanenko carded a round of 76 (+4) to place tied for 55th after round one. She started her first nine holes at +4. Two birdies on holes two and four would lead her to an even-par back nine.

Northern Arizona currently sits at +2, tied with Pepperdine. UC Irvine and Little Rock sit one shot ahead at +1. The top three spots are occupied by Kansas, Boise State, and Sac State, which posted scores of even-par, -4, and -7 respectively. 

Lukyanenko will tee off first for the Lumberjacks in Tuesday's second round at 9:30 a.m. Mountain Standard time. She will be followed by Slater, Bates, Desiz, and Neale as Northern Arizona will open play on hole 1. They will be paired with
UC Irvine, Pepperdine, and Denver. Live scoring can be found on Golfstat.

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Full Team Leaderboard:
1. Sacramento State 281 (-7)
2. Boise State 284 (-4)
3. Kansas 288 (E)
T4. Little Rock 289 (+1)
T4. UC Irvine 289 (+1)
T6. Northern Arizona 290 (+2)
T6. Pepperdine 290 (+2)
8. Denver 293 (+5)
9. South Dakota State 294 (+6)
10. Mercer 297 (+9)
11. Wichita State 298 (+10)
T12. UNC Asheville 299 (+11)
T12. Northern Colorado 299 (+11)
14. East Tennessee State 301 (+13)
15. Eastern Michigan 302 (+14)
16. Arkansas State 305 (+17)

NAU Individual Scores:
T4. Lizzie Neale 69 (-3)
T20. Frankie Dezis 72 (E)
T34. Ava Bates 74 (+2)
T46. Ellena Slater 75 (+3)
T55. Nina Lukyanenko 76 (+4)