Cougars finish strong at the Thompson Rainbow Invitational

WAIMANALO, Hawaii--BYU finished sixth after shooting its lowest three-round total in two years as three golfers placed in the top twenty at the Thompson Rainbow Invitational on Thursday.

BYU's (304-307-308=919) strung together three solid rounds and held on to a tie with PAC-10 power Oregon State to finished sixth against a tough field that included four top 20 teams. No. 14 Oklahoma State held off No. 2 Arizona to win by three strokes.

"This was the most consistent three-round tournament we've played in a number of years," BYU head coach Gary Howard said. "We accomplished what we wanted to and I think we are in a much better position to qualify for the NCAA Regional Tournament in May."

BYU was led by All-American Carrie Summerhays (73-78-75=226), who shot a final-round 75 to finish in 10 individually. This was Summerhays fourth top 10 finish this season and 23rd of her career. Senior Captain Summer Pierce (78-76-74=228) played quality golf for the second consecutive tournament and had a team low third round 74 to finish16th overall. Lisa Dernick was also a big contributor for the Cougars (75-76-76=227) as finished in 13th place individually.

"Lisa (Dernick) played a courageous round today," Howard said. "She was struggling all day but came back and shot a 76. I'm proud of the way all of our girls played. I'm pleased with the way they fought hard this whole tournament."

Place   School          Score
1. Oklahoma St.  303-298-294=895
2. Arizona       300-294-304=898
3. Louisiana St. 304-301-295=900
4. Oklahoma      304-300-306=910
5. TCU           302-310-299=911
6. BYU           304-307-308=919
6. Oregon State  299-307-313=919
8. Colorado St.  305-312-313=930
9. Minnesota     309-309-315=933
10. Colorado     305-311-322=938
18 Teams Competing
BYU Individuals
T10. Carrie Summerhays  73-78-75=226
T13. Lisa Dernick       75-76-76=227
T16. Summer Pierce      78-76-74=228
T49. Adrianne Gibby     78-77-84=239
T89. Nicole Newren      87-87