KAPOLEI, Hawai`i (Nov. 5, 2003) -- With wind and high temperatures beating against them, the BYU women's golf team managed to survive the conditions en route to an eighth-place finish out of 17 teams at the Kent Youel Invitational.

The Cougars scored strong in the first round, making a tough stand in fifth place (307) and then dropping to seventh in the second round (311). The first day of the tournament proved to be emotionally and physically draining, as BYU battled through 36 holes.

"We're still making progress with every round," BYU coach Sue Nyhus said. "We realized we have to get better, but overall we're on our way to improvement."

The final round showed improvement, as the team focused on their weaknesses and let their shots fall. Junior Natalie Newren played another consistent three rounds (72-77-78--227), as she led BYU individually at tied for 13th place.

As the wind picked up towards the end of the first day, the Cougars displayed endurance and pulled it together for two rounds. In the last round, the BYU squad overcame the previous rounds to shoot a 308 and finish with an overall score of 307-311-308--926.

"It was a scoreable course," junior Margaret Gibby said. "We all had our individual struggles, but in general we overcame them and stayed upbeat."

The Kent Youel Invitational featured one of the most beautiful golf courses, which BYU was honored to play on during the season.

"We're glad to have the opportunity to play here," Gibby said.

The last tournament, the Las Vegas Founders, of the fall season for the women's golf team comes Nov. 10-12. It will be hosted by conference-rival UNLV and played at the Anthem Country Course.

Kent Youel Invitational
Kapolei Golf Course     Oahu, HI
Dates: 11/04 - 11/05    Par:   72
                        Yardage: 5900
FINAL RESULTS
1   Oklahoma            297  299  293  889
2   Washington          301  301  289  891
3   San Jose State      303  302  302  907
4   Long Beach State    307  306  294  907
5   Texas A&M           301  303  309  913
6   Oregon              308  306  300  914
7   Oregon State        308  314  300  922
8   BYU                 307  311  308  926
9   San Francisco       322  304  306  932
10  CSU-Northridge      308  314  311  933
11  New Mexico State    320  313  301  934
12  Colorado            312  313  310  935
    Hawai`i             315  309  311  935
14  Portland State      314  309  317  940
15  Santa Clara         319  319  309  947
16  UC-Irvine           314  321  321  956
17  Southern Illinois   928  327  317  972
  8    Brigham Young Univ.      307  311  308    926
T13    Natalie Newren            72   77   78    227
T 40    Margaret Gibby           76   81   76    233
T 46    Nicole N.-Chandler       77   81   76    234
T 50    Alexis Edwards           82   75   78    235
T 59    Rachel Newren            84   78   78    240

PROVO -- After finishing third at the Lady Aztec, the BYU women's golf team hope to play another competitive three rounds of golf at the Kent Youel Invitational in Kapolei, Hawai`i.

"We've had a really good week of practice," BYU coach Sue Nyhus said. "The girls are focused and ready to compete. We're hoping to keep concentration on the course and improve in strategy."

The Cougars will travel to Hawai`i over Nov. 4-5 to compete it the fourth tournament of the fall season. So far, BYU's top finish (3rd) and lowest team round (893) was at the Lady Aztec Invitational during Oct. 20-21, where junior Margaret Gibby shot her personal-best 69 in the first round.

The Kent Youel will bring teams from the WAC, Pac 10, Big 12 and Big West including No.11 Oklahoma, No. 24 Oregon and No.34 San Francisco. BYU is currently ranked 41 on golfweek.com.

BYU will compete in 36 holes on Tuesday, the first day of the tournament and 18 holes on Wednesday. The Kapolei Golf Course measures 6,139 yards with a par of 72.

"We experienced playing 36 holes on the first day at the Lady Aztec," Nyhus said. "So we hope we can improve from that. Also, Hawai`i can be windy at times, so we are preparing for that with the windy days here in Provo."

The Cougars are looking to take the confidence and experience gained from the Lady Aztec Invitational to Hawai`i, which features a tougher field of golfers.

The complete field at the Kent Youel are: Cal State Northridge, BYU, Colorado, Hawai`i, Long Beach State, New Mexico State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, Portland State, San Francisco, San Jose State, Santa Clara, Southern Illinois, Texas A&M, UC Irvine and Washington.