Golf showing contender attributes before conference tournament

in Sports by Shakina Washington — April 17, 2012 at 2:59 pm | no comments

With the Big Sky Conference tournament fast approaching, the NAU women’s golf team shot the best it had all season to finish 14th at the Cowgirl Classic in Chandler, while battling the harsh weather conditions the team has grown used to.

Although it was windy during the third day of the tournament, the team managed to shoot 294 on the second day, their lowest score so far this season.

“The wind was very difficult, especially difficult later in the day,” said freshman Laura Jabczenski. “The teams that shot off earlier got a bigger advantage, but that’s just life and you can’t really control that.”

NAU placed 14th after the first round with a score of 309, 21 above par. The University Of Wyoming (UW) tied NAU with a total of 309, while the University of Northern Colorado (UNU) snatched 13th with a three point gap of 306 points. The Iowa State University Cardinals (ISU) sat in first place during round one, with a score of 289, only one point above par.

“The first round was okay,” said head woman’s golf coach Brad Bedortha.” We didn’t play great; everyone shot in the seventies and we didn’t get enough lower scores.”

The Jack’s opened day two of the classic strong and moved up the rankings to seventh with a score of 294, and tied Portland State University for the second-best score of the day to increase their overall score to 603, 16 shots ahead of eighth place Sacramento State and University of Nevada.

NAU sat behind Xavier University, whose round-one score gave them a one-point lead, placing them sixth with a total score of 602.

“We played really well the second round,” Jabczenski said. “Our team has a lot of potential and it definitely showed.”

Due to the rough weather, the Lumberjacks were not able to keep their seventh place spot and moved back to their round-one ranking of 14th with a final score of 923, 59 over par.

“The second day we posted our best score of the season, but unfortunately we couldn’t finish strong,” said junior Stephanie Kim. “But I think it was a good step for getting ready for conference.”

Sophomore Kaitlen Parsons shot a 77 and 70 through the first two days, and Kim shot a 76 and 75. Both continued to play well the third round of the competition.

“The weather turned windy,” Bedortha said. “Two of the girls continued to play well and the others struggled.”

Parson ended the classic with a score of 222, shooting a 75 on the final day.

Kim had the second best score for the team, with an accumulated score of 225. She also scored in the mid-seventies the entire tournament, ending the last day with 74.

“I was playing pretty well,” Kim said. “I just didn’t finish very strong on the last couple of holes.”

The Jacks will be returning to the same course for the Big Sky Conference Championship, April 22-24. NAU placed second at last year’s tournament with a final score of 904.

“We’re really excited and gearing up for conference,” Jabczenski said. “We are ready to show everything we have.”