2003-04 Season Review

PROVO, Utah -- The BYU women's golf team completed its most successful season in ten years by finishing 13th at the NCAA West Regional.

The team ended the season strong with its second best NCAA Regional finish in school history

Coach Sue Nyhus was encouraged by her team's performance this year and is already looking forward to next year.

"I'm so proud of this team," Nyhus said. "We know we're moving in the right direction and we're only going to get better."

The Cougars also finished 3rd in the Mountain West Conference, their best finish since the 1999-00 season.

Nyhus was pleased with the way the Cougars played during the conference championship.

"We played great from the very first hole on the day," she said. "We peaked at just the right time."

Margaret Gibby lead the Cougars at the championship by carding a one-under for the tournament, good enough for a fourth place finish. The championship was Gibby's strongest tournament of the season.

"She had a very impressive tournament," Nyhus said. "She played outstanding golf all three days. To finish one-over in the conference championship really says a lot."

The three Newren sister all had strong finishes as the all placed in the Top-20. Nicole Newren-Chandler had the best final day for the Cougars going one-under 70 in her final MWC Tournament round. Nicole's 221 total and 14th-place finish were her best of the season. Freshman Rachel finished even on the day and tied for 15th place, while Natalie shot a final round two-over to place 19th. Freshman Alexis Edwards finished in 23rd place after a final round 75.

The Cougars used eight Top-10 finishes to garner a season-high ranking of No. 41. The team finished the season ranked No. 52.

The team's best finish came at the Anteater Invitational where it finished second after firing a combined 912 over three days of competition. The Cougars also finished third at the Lady Aztec Invitational in October, the Bobcat Desert Classic in March and the Mountain West Conference Championship in April.

Margaret Gibby anchored the Cougars this year with a 76.8 stroke average, including five Top-20 finishes. The trio of Newren sisters combined for 12 Top-20 finishes, including a team-high 6 by junior

Natalie Newren.

Freshman Alexis Edwards was also recognized as a scholar athlete by the MWC.

With only Nicole Newren-Chandler graduating from this year's team, the Cougars are excited to build on this year's success.

Event                           Finish   Score
Dick McGuire Invitational        5/17    309-303-311--923 (+47)
Edean Ihlanfeldt Inv.           10/15    300-323-322--945 (+81)
Lady Aztec Invitational          3/21    295-305-293--893 (+29)
Kent Youel Invitational          8/17    307-311-308--926
Las Vegas Founders Showdown     12
Bay Area Classic                10/14        331-348--679
Texas A&M Mo-morial             12/16    318-309-310--937
Bobcat Desert Classic            3/18        301-297--598 (+22)
Anteater Invitational            2/13    307-300-305--912 (+48)
BYU Dixie Classic                4/13    300-314-308--922 (+58)
MWC Championsip                  3/6     297-295-288--880 (+28)
NCAA West Regional             T13/21    310-307-305--922