The Northern Arizona women’s golf team carded a final-round 307 to capture the 2009 Big Sky Conference Golf Championship with a 54-hole total of 914.
“I am speechless,” said senior Ali Carter.”We always thought we could do it and it had not happened in my three years. The fact that it finally happened this year is unbelievable.”
Carter was one of four Lumberjacks with rounds in the 70s on Wednesday. She entered the final round tied with teammate Alexa Kim for the individual lead, finishing fourth overall at 10-over par 226. Kim tied for second after a five-over par 77 for a nine-over total of 225.
“The team championship was all that mattered today,” said Carter, who was named the Golden Eagle female Scholar Athlete of the Year at a banquet on campus Wednesday. “Whatever it took for us to win.”
It was the sixth conference championship for Northern Arizona, the most in league history. The Lumberjacks held off a hard-charging Sacramento State team, which fired a final-round best 300 to finish six strokes back at 920. Northern Arizona opened on Monday with a 298, followed by a 309.
"I'm very proud of my team,'' said Northern Arizona coach Brad Bedortha, who guided NAU to its first league title since 2002."Weber State played great the last two days and Sacramento State really put some pressure on us late today. We played solid today. They played great and they deserved the trophy today. We had to earn it and finish the job today. It was an unbelievable experience.”
