Northern Arizona disqualified from NCAA women's regional for not having enough players

Northern Arizona’s NCAA postseason is over, 18 holes earlier than expected.

The Lumberjacks, competing in an NCAA regional for the first time in four years as the automatic qualifier out of the Big Sky, were disqualified from the team competition during Tuesday’s second round of the NCAA Waco Regional after senior Lizzie Neale’s withdrawal left the squad with just three players.

Northern Arizona has eight players on its roster, but it only traveled four players to Ridgewood Country Club – Neale, ranked No. 170 in the country, as well as junior Amy Hodgkins (311), junior Frankie Dezis (394) and freshman Lydia Lin (627).

Senior Nina Lukyanenko, who was T-10 at the Big Sky Championship and ranked No. 822, did not travel, nor did sophomores Sumin Kang (627) and Ava Bates (not ranked) and freshman Glafira Pomazkova (not ranked).

Golfweek is reporting that several players left the team for “different reasons, including one of them getting married.” Also, reportedly one player “had to be convinced to come back” so that Northern Arizona would not have to forfeit its regional bid.

Had Northern Arizona not had enough players, the Big Sky would’ve had the ability to award its AQ to the runner-up team, Northern Colorado.

Neale shot 77 in the first round and had scores posted for the second round before her round was scrapped from the live-scoring website. The NCAA confirmed to Golf Channel that it was a withdrawal and was in process of finding out the reason.

Hodgkins (T-15), Lin (T-39) and Dezis (50th) will be allowed to compete as individuals on Wednesday.

This marks just the second time in NCAA women's regional history that a team has been disqualified after it was unable to field four players. East Carolina was forced out of the 2018 NCAA Austin Regional after it had just two healthy players for the second round. Three Pirates were among those stricken by a virus, believed to have originated from water coolers on the course.