Cougars riding high in second place after two rounds

IRVINE -- The BYU women's golf team had a firm grasp on second place Monday after two rounds at the Anteater Invitational.

Behind the steady play of junior Margaret Gibby (75-74--149), the Cougars (307-300--607) thrust themselves to the forefront of a competitive field that included four top-50 clubs. Gibby's performance positioned her sixth in the individual standings.

BYU head coach Sue Nyhus said she was happy with her team's play.

"We're proud of them," she said. "The team's been getting more and more confident."

Besides Gibby, the Cougars had two others in the top 20. Freshmen Rachel Newren (78-75--153) and Alexis Edwards (75-78--153) tied for 18th. Rounding out the Cougars' five were solid performances from senior Nicole Newren-Chandler (79-75--154) and her sister Natalie (80-76--156).

Nyhus said she was pleased with her team's preparation for the tournament.

"All of their preparation and hard work with Josh Baker in the training room is showing up," she said. "There are girls complaining about having to play 36 holes and our girls are jogging down the fairway."

The Anteater, hosted by UC Irvine, is held at the Coto de Gaza Golf and Racquet Club on a par-72 course that measures 6,072 yards. The tournament is fielding a competitive group of the following 13 teams: San Francisco (41), San Jose State (43), Michigan (45), Virginia (47), Denver, Iowa State, UC Irvine, Colorado, Colorado State, Cal State Northridge, Kansas and Boise State.

BYU enters the final round Tuesday 21 strokes behind first-place San Francisco (291-295--586), but five strokes ahead of third-place Michigan (302-310--612). If the Cougars hold on to second place, it will be their highest finish of the season.

Anteater Invitational        Irvine, Calif.
March 15-16                  Coto de Caza Golf Club
Par: 72                      Yardage: 6,072
          
Fin. Name                    Score 
  2  Brigham Young           307-300--607 (+31)
T 7  Margaret Gibby          75-74--149   (+5)
T 18 Rachel Newren           78-75--153   (+9)
T 18 Alexis Edwards          75-78--153   (+9)
T 23 Nicole Newren-Chandler  79-75--154   (+10)
T 30 Natalie Newren          80-76--156   (+12)
Fin. Team                    Score
  1  San Francisco           291-295--586 (+10) 
  2  Brigham Young           307-300--607 (+31) 
  3  Michigan                302-310--612 (+36) 
  4  San Jose State          306-310--616 (+40) 
  5  UC Irvine               307-310--617 (+41) 
T 6  Kansas                  322-301--623 (+47) 
T 6  Iowa State              309-314--623 (+47) 
  8  Colorado                303-321--624 (+48) 
T 9  Virginia                316-309--625 (+49) 
T 9  Colorado State          311-314--625 (+49) 
  11 Denver                  312-314--626 (+50) 
  12 Boise State             310-322--632 (+56) 
  13 CS Northridge           322-325--647 (+71)
 
Fin. Top 20 Players          School           Scores 
  1  Nikki Jacoby            San Francisco    71-74--145 (+1)
  2  Kristi Larsen           San Francisco    72-74--146 (+2)
T 3  Elizabeth Allen         CS Northridge    75-72--147 (+3)
T 3  Joan M. Shimozaki       San Francisco    74-73--147 (+3)
T 5  Minnie Choi             UC Irvine        74-74--148 (+4)
T 5  Jordan Auten            San Francisco    74-74--148 (+4)
T 7  Margaret Gibby          Brigham Young    75-74--149 (+5)
T 7  Angela Won              UC Irvine        73-76--149 (+5)
T 9  Maria Perrson-Gulda     Colorado         76-74--150 (+6)
T 9  Alyssa Otero            Denver           76-74--150 (+6)
T 11 Ashley Gomes            San Jose State   74-77--151 (+7)
T 11 Tai Kinney              San Jose State   77-74--151 (+7)
T 13 Amanda Costner          Kansas           77-75--152 (+8)
T 13 Louise Kenney           Iowa State       75-77--152 (+8)
T 13 Brianna Broderick       Michigan         75-77--152 (+8)
T 13 Hannah Hoch             Colorado         74-78--152 (+8)
T 13 Stephanie Linnell       Colorado State   78-74--152 (+8)
T 18 Saki Uechi*             UC Los Angeles   78-75--153 (+9)
T 18 Leanne Owens            Iowa State       76-77--153 (+9)
T 18 Rachel Newren           Brigham Young    78-75--153 (+9)
T 18 Sally Shonk             Virginia         78-75--153 (+9)
T 18 Alexis Edwards          Brigham Young    75-78--153 (+9)
*Played as an individual