Women's golf takes fourth in BYU Dixie Classic

ST. GEORGE -- It was a family affair this week at the 19th annual BYU Dixie Classic.

Rallying behind BYU's terrific trio of Newren sisters (Rachel, Nicole, and Natalie), the women's golf team snagged fourth place at the Dixie Classic on Tuesday. All three sisters placed in the top 20 as the ever-improving Cougars finished fourth or better for the third consecutive time.

"We're on the verge of a breakout tournament," BYU head coach Sue Nyhus said. "We are really close."

Also close was the battle for third between BYU (300-314-308--922) and San Diego State (297-314-308--919). Heading into the final round, the Cougars trailed the Aztecs by three stokes, but picked up eagles from Rachel Newren and Alexis Edwards on the first hole to jump ahead briefly. However, in the end, the Cougars finished the same three strokes behind the Aztecs.

BYU was led by freshman Rachel (75-77-74--226), whose ninth-place finish was her career best. Behind her were Nicole (73-81-75--229), a senior, and junior Natalie (75-75-80--230), who placed 17th and 19th, respectively. Rounding out the Cougars' five were Margaret Gibby (77-83-79--239), who placed 34th, and Alexis Edwards (82-81-80--243), who finished 40th.

The Cougars got off to a great first-round start on Monday, but found it hard to maintain on the second 18 holes when the winds picked up. A steady 308 in the final round solidified BYU's fourth-place finish.

BYU competed against three top-50 clubs in a tough field of the following 12 schools: Colorado (89), Colorado State (65), Hawaii (66), Long Beach State (86), Montana State, Nevada (71), Portland State (62), San Diego State (43), San Francisco (32), UNLV (21), Weber State (110), and Wyoming (140).

A quick look at the current national rankings on golfweek.com would have told the story before the tournament began. The No. 57 Cougars were outdone by UNLV (296-291-289--876), San Francisco (294-308-301--903), and San Diego State, the three teams that precede BYU in those rankings.

However, the Cougars, who in March finished third at the Bobcat Classic and second at the Anteater Invitational, are making a late-season climb up the national standings.

"Our program is moving in the right direction," assistant coach Dave DeSantis said.

The Dixie Classic was played for the first time at Entrada at Snow Canyon, a par-72 course that measures 6,150 yards.

The top individual was UNLV's Sunny Oh (70-72-73--215), who is ranked No. 30 in the nation.

The Cougars rest until April 22 when they fly to Sunriver, Ore. for the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

BYU Dixie Classic               St. George, Utah
April 5-6                       Entrada at Snow Canyon
Par: 72                         Yardage: 6,127
Fin.  Name                      Score
  4 	 Brigham Young  	          300-314-308--922  (+58)
T 9	  Rachel Newren            	75-77-74--226     (+10) 
T 17		Nicole Newren-Chandler    73-81-75--229     (+13)
T 19	 Natalie Newren           	75-75-80--230     (+14) 
  34 	Margaret Gibby           	77-83-79--239     (+23)
T 40 	Alexis Edwards           	82-81-80--243     (+27)
Fin.  School                    Score
  1 	 UNLV                     	296-291-289--876  (+12)
  2 	 San Francisco        	    294-308-301--903  (+39) 
  3 	 San Diego State      	    297-314-308--919  (+55) 
  4 	 Brigham Young      	      300-314-308--922  (+58) 
  5 	 Colorado State            318-303-308--929  (+65)
  6 	 Nevada        	           317-314-305--936  (+72)
  7 	 Portland State       	    314-312-313--939  (+75)
  8 	 Weber State       	       323-316-311--950  (+86)
  9 	 Hawaii           	        322-318-313--953  (+89)
  10	 Colorado        	         320-321-320--961  (+97)  
  11	 Long Beach State 	        314-335-329--978  (+114)
  12	 Montana State       	     320-332-339--991  (+127)
  13	 Wyoming                  	346-334-337--1017 (+153)
Fin.  Top 20 Players            School            Score           
  1	  Sunny Oh                  UNLV 	            70-72-73--215  (-1)
  2	  Seema Sadekar             UNLV 	            73-73-72--218  (+2)
  3   Mariko Shimozaki          San Francisco    	73-76-72--221  (+5)
  4	  Jenna Wilson              San Diego State  	70-80-72--222  (+6)
T 5  	Hannah Hoch              	Colorado        	 76-72-75--223  (+7)
T 5   Heather MacRae           	San Diego State  	71-75-77--223  (+7)
  7  	Sara Odelius              Hawaii           	81-73-70--224  (+8)
  8  	Nikki Jacoby              San Francisco    	74-77-74--225  (+9)
T 9  	Nicole de Gennaro         Nevada           	78-76-72--226  (+10)
T 9  	Dale Gammie               Hawaii           	71-76-79--226  (+10)
T 9	  Rachel Newren            	Brigham Young     75-77-74--226  (+10) 
T 12 	Jordan Auten              San Francisco    	72-79-77--228  (+12)
T 12  Hwanhee Lee	              UNLV             	77-75-76--228  (+12)
T 12	 Young Pak                 UNLV             	76-78-74--228  (+12)
T 12  Rebecca Randolph          Portland State   	73-78-77--228  (+12)
T 12	 Dawna Virdell             Colorado State   	76-71-81--228  (+12)
T 17 	Kristi Larsen             San Francisco    	75-76-78--229  (+13)
T 17	 Nicole Newren-Chandler  	 Brigham Young     73-81-75--229  (+13) 
T 19	 Shayna Miyajima           San Diego State  	75-79-76--230  (+14)
T 19 	Natalie Newren            Brigham Young     75-75-80--230  (+14)