Senior Ali Carter takes a shot during the Big Sky Conference Championship. The Lumberjacks won the championship by six strokes over second-place Sacramento State. - Photo by Mackenzie Kasper/ Big Sky Conference

The NAU women’s golf team entered the season with high expectations after being voted the preseason favorite to win the Big Sky Championship. The team had come up short three consecutive years, finishing second each year. But the Jacks fulfilled those expectations and got over the hump by taking the Big Sky Championship held at Octotillo Golf Resort in Chandler, Ariz., from April 20-22.

“I’m very proud of (the team),” said head coach Brad Bedortha. “I definitely felt that we had the ability to win. We had some struggles off and on throughout the fall and the spring, but I’m proud of the progress we’ve made. Different people stepped up at different times during the season, and there was never a doubt in my mind that we couldn’t win.”

The Jacks opened the three-round tournament with a strong first round. As a team, NAU finished the first round in the lead after shooting a 10-over-par 298, 10 strokes ahead of second-place Sacramento State. 

Leading NAU in the first round was a trio of Jacks who finished the first day in the top three individually. Sophomore Alexa Kim was the individual first-round leader after shooting an even-par 72. Following her in second was sophomore Bethany Leclair, who finished the day two strokes behind Kim, and senior Ali Carter after she shot a 3-over-par 75 that put her in a tie for third.

After a successful second round that saw the Jacks extend their lead to 13 strokes over Sacramento State and Weber State, the Jacks entered the final round and posted a 19-over-par 307 to claim their first Big Sky Championship since 2002. The Lumberjacks finished six strokes better than Sacramento State.

Individually, Kim and Carter entered the final day tied for the individual lead at 4-over-par for the tournament. However, after shooting seven birdies apiece in the first two rounds, neither made a birdie in the last round. In the end, Kim and Carter were the lead golfers for the Jacks as Kim finished at 9-over-par 225 to fall into a tie for second, and Carter a stroke behind her at 10-over-par 226 to finish fourth overall.

“I felt comfortable (going into the final round) if we played a solid round we would be okay,” Bedortha said. “Ali and Alexa played a lot better than their score indicated; they just didn’t make any birdies.”

Aside from Kim and Carter, junior Megan Buck gave NAU three top-10 finishers with a tie for ninth with a 15-over-par 231. After her strong first round, Leclair wound up in a tie for 16th, while junior Meghan Bremer rounded out the Jacks’ lineup in a tie for 29th.

Overall, this was the Jacks‘ sixth conference championship, the most in team history. But for Carter, a member of the three previous conference runner-up teams, the championship meant a great deal.

“All I’ve ever wanted was a conference championship,” Carter said. “We were well-prepared and confident in our abilities. This was my last chance, so to finally do it was unbelievable.”

With their Big Sky Championship, the Jacks earned a NCAA West Regional berth, which will be held in Tempe May 7 to 9. For many of the Jacks, this will be their first trip to regionals, except for Kim, who made it to regionals last year as a member of Texas State.

“Last year was a good experience for me,” Kim said. “When I transferred here this year, all the girls told me that they tried so hard to make it to regionals the past few years, so I’m real happy for the team because we all played hard.”

The Lumberjacks will hold down the tournament’s No. 20 seed in a field of 21 teams. The trip to regionals is NAU’s fourth in school history and the first since 2002.  The tournament hosts 324 participants and 126 will receive the oppurtunity to play in the championship finals at the Caves Valley Golf club in Washington, D.C.