BYU women's golf to play in Mountain West Conference Championship

PROVO -- The BYU women's golf team heads to Sunriver, Ore. this week to battle for the Mountain West Conference Championship Thursday through Saturday, April 22-24.

BYU, ranked No. 56 this week by Golfweek.com, travels to Oregon on a hot streak, having placed fourth or better in its last three tournaments. The Cougars snatched fourth two weeks ago at the BYU Dixie Classic, second at the Anteater Invitational, and third at the Bobcat Desert Classic. Of the team's 10 tournaments this season, BYU has grabbed fifth place or better five times.

Leading BYU this season has been the steady play of junior Margaret Gibby, whose 77.3 stroke average is the lowest on the team. Gibby has turned in four top-20 finishes and has been the most consistent Cougar. Right behind Gibby are sisters Natalie and Rachel Newren, both of which have finished in the top 20 in each of BYU's last three tournaments and boast identical 78.3 stroke averages, second best on the team. The continued solid play of these three will be critical to the Cougars' success.

Rounding out BYU's team are Alexis Edwards and Nicole Newren-Chandler. The MWC tournament will be the first for Edwards, a freshman, and the last for Newren-Chandler, a senior.

The MWC Championship will be played at Sunriver Resort, a par-72 course measuring 5,851 yards. BYU will compete against a tough field of the following MWC teams, with their current national ranking in parenthesis: Colorado State (64), New Mexico (5), San Diego State (43), UNLV (20), and Wyoming (146).

In 2003, the tournament was dominated by champion New Mexico (316-280-294--890) and second-place UNLV (305-291-295--891). BYU (314-305-307--926) took fourth behind freshman Danielle von Arnim's 10th-place 77-72-80--229. New Mexico has won the MWC for four consecutive years.

The tournament will be played over three days, 18 holes per day. Competition will begin each day with a 10 a.m. tee time. Live stats will be available over the Internet at www.TheMWC.com on the golf championship link or at www.Golfstat.com.