Subscribe to RSSJacks golf team records another solid finish in Oregon
By Tyler Childers
Freshman Savana Bezdicek tied for 32nd in her college debut as a Northern Arizona University (NAU) golfer, but followed up with a more memorable outing in her second collegiate tournament.
Bezdicek opened the Rose City Collegiate with a bang, shooting a 69 in the first round of the tournament, tying teammate senior Stephanie Kim for the third best single-round score recorded by a Lumberjack.
Portland State hosted the Rose City Collegiate Oct. 1 and 2 in Aurora, Ore. at Langdon Farms Golf Club. The tournament featured a 13-team field, including competitors from the PAC-12 and the Big Sky Conference (BSC).
Bezdicek, who finished second in the individual standings, played a huge role in helping NAU finish fifth overall in the team standings.
“Golfwise, she is a great player,” said head coach Brad Bedortha about Bezdicek. “She handles herself beautifully on the course. She doesn’t get too high or too low.”
Bezdicek shot 69–78–76 (223) through the three-round tournament. Bezdicek became only the second freshman at NAU to shoot below 70 in a round. The previous person to do that is now the only senior on the team, Stephanie Kim, who actually accomplished the feat twice.
“My first round, I just tried to focus on each and every shot, and try not to get caught up in how well I thought I was doing,” Bezdicek said. “[I was] just taking it one shot at a time.”
Junior Kaitlen Parsons also had a good outing at the Rose City Collegiate. Parsons shot her way into a tie for 12th place. She played very consistently all three rounds, shooting 76-76-77 (229).
“Kaitlen has been playing pretty well,” Bedortha said. “She played pretty solid the whole time.”
Parsons incurred a two-stroke penalty when she showed up to her last round with too many clubs in her bag. Bedortha said she showed mental toughness by fighting back from the penalty to record a solid round anyway.
NAU finished ahead of all five BSC schools present in Aurora, and only six strokes out of second place and 10 from first. NAU left the Rose City Collegiate tournament with a final score of 922.
The California State University-Fullerton took home the team title with a score of 912.
“We played well; we beat some teams that were ranked ahead of us,” Bedortha said. “We were competitive.”
Prior to the tournament, the Lumberjacks were ranked 63rd in the Golfweek rankings. Following the competition, NAU topped No. 47 University of San Francisco as well as the No. 53 Long Beach State.
This is a good sign for when the Lumberjacks will host the BSC Championship April 21-23 in Chandler, Ariz. They will be looking to knock off the defending BSC champions University of Northern Colorado.
The Jacks picked up some much-needed experience for the young team during the final round as well, playing in the last group, which is reserved for the teams leading the tournament.
Sophomore Darian Spivey finished tied for 26th, shooting 78–76–81 (235), while fellow sophomore Laura Jabczenski shot 77–79–82 (238), putting her in a tie for 34th.
The lone senior on the team, Stephanie Kim, struggled through the Rose City tournament shooting 82–79–79 (240) through the two days, putting her in a tie for 39th.
The Lumberjacks will return to the links for the Cowgirl Desert Intercollegiate Tournament Oct. 13-14 in Palm Desert, Calif.
