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 withdrew midway through her round with a back injury and left the squad with just three players.

Northern Arizona had 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). Three others were either dismissed from or left the program earlier this semester, and senior Nina Lukyanenko, who was T-10 at the Big Sky Championship, couldn’t make the trip to Waco because of her wedding, which is scheduled for Thursday in Flagstaff, Arizona. Northern Arizona head coach Brad Bedortha blamed himself for the wedding conflict, as he initially communicated to the team earlier this season that regionals were last week, May 4-6.

“It’s just been a comedy of errors that were extremely unfortunate,” Bedortha told Golf Channel via phone on Tuesday evening. “This has just been a year that I could’ve never have imagined in my wildest dreams, and we’ve had the best team we’ve ever had. … Somehow it just hasn’t worked out. Thankfully, they can’t take the conference championship trophy away.”

Northern Arizona won three times this season, including its 10th Big Sky title, while achieving a No. 77 national ranking, the best in Bedortha’s 18 seasons with the Lumberjacks. Neale, who holds every major school record, boasted five top-10s, including a playoff loss at conference. Bedortha was named Big Sky coach of the year.

“When you win the conference, you pretty much get voted coach of the year,” Bedortha said. “I got voted coach of the year, and I’m like, This just does not feel right. I should not be awarded this for what’s happened. I take full responsibility. I should’ve been a better leader in a lot of ways.”

Bedortha preferred not to expand on what he described as “team dynamic issues.”

“It was just brutally hard for everybody,” Bedortha added, “and obviously, we’re still here, and the players that are here are doing the best they can, getting along well and making the best of this experience regardless, and I give them all the credit in the world for trying to work through this situation the best they can. I’m trying to be here and be as present as possible and do the best job for my players that are here right now.”

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, who missed action earlier this spring and barely made it through conference, shot 77 in the first round and was clearly struggling physically. She had just made the turn on Tuesday when she told her coaches she couldn’t continue.

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.

Hodgkins (T-15), Lin (T-39) and Dezis (50th) will be allowed to compete as individuals on Wednesday. Hodgkins is only two shots back of the projected current top player not on an advancing team. Through two rounds, SMU leads the Waco Regional at 14 under, eight shots clear of Texas A&M. LSU and Oregon are third and fourth, respectively, while host Baylor and Tulsa are tied for fifth at 6 over, three behind the Ducks and and two up on SEC champion Tennessee. Only the top five teams advance to next week’s NCAA Championship.

If Northern Arizona’s season does indeed end Wednesday, however, Bedortha says he’ll need some time to decompress before erasing the proverbial dry-erase board. He’s signed three incoming freshmen to go along with three returners, and he also planned to tap into the transfer portal when that opens later this month.

“This has been easily the hardest year of my life coaching,” Bedortha said. “I’ve coached 26 years, and I could never have imagined this. If you would’ve told me 100 scenarios on what would’ve happened this year, not one of them would be this, ever, not in my wildest imagination. This is probably scenario 158, sitting here right now, in a Hampton Inn in Waco, Texas, being conference champions, still feeling like we’re at rock bottom.

Yet, once we’re done, I know I have to close the book on this year, look back with fond memories on a lot of great things that we’ve accomplished and done and some great people that are within our program, and embrace with open arms what the future is going to be.

“I still believe that we can bounce back and have another great year.”