Cougars Continue To Improve In Fall Finale

LAS VEGAS -- The BYU women's golf team continued to show improvement in the final round of the fall season by shooting 294 in the third round of Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown.

BYU coach Sue Nyhus said she has been pleased with the progress of the team during the fall season.

"We started the season shooting near 300 and today we shot a 294," Nyhus said. "That's where we want to be."

The Cougars received strong performances on the final day from Rachel Newren, Margaret Gibby and Alexis Edwards.

"They were hot right from the beginning," Nyhus said.

Newren turned in a 1-under round Wednesday; the Cougars' best score of the tournament. The sophomore carded a team-high four birdies and shot only three bogeys. Her three-round total landed her in tie for No. 24 overall.

Edwards cut five strokes off Tuesday's round to shoot an even par in the final round. She tied Newren with four birdies and tallied 11 pars. Her impressive final round moved her up 11 spots from No. 52 to No. 41.

Gibby shaved 7 strokes off her second round score by playing steady, consistent golf. She shot a team-high 12 pars on the last day to improve her score.

Senior Natalie Newren and freshman Juli Wightman also contributed to the Cougars' score with an 81 and 77, respectively. Newren finished at No. 46, while Wightman finished at No. 43.

The Cougars' other freshman, Ashley Childers, competed in the tournament as an individual. She shot an 85 Wednesday, after posting an impressive 74 during the second round.

The Cougars now have a more than three-month break until the compete in the Bay Area Classic on Feb. 21-22, 2005.

Nyhus said the team is going to work very hard during the off-season to improve its pace and confidence.

Fin. School                 Scores
1 	  UNLV                   296 	292 	287 	875 (+11) 
2 	  Washington             294 	306 	280 	880 (+16) 
3 	  Stanford               301 	298 	291 	890 (+26)
4 	  UC Irvine              307 	296 	289 	892 (+28)
5 	  Texas Tech Univ        299 	295 	299 	893 (+29) 
6 	  San Francisco, U. of   311 	301 	284 	896 (+32)
7 	  Kent State             315 	293 	291 	899 (+35)
8 	  Missouri, U. of        308 	297 	295 	900 (+36)
9 	  USC                    303 	315 	284 	902 (+38)
10 	 Brigham Young Univ.    312 	301 	294 	907 (+43)
11 	 Colorado State Univ.   305 	304 	299 	908 (+44)
12 	 San Jose State Univ    317 	302 	300 	919 (+55)
13 	 Cal Berkeley           314 	307 	299 	920 (+56)
14 	 Texas A&M University   322 	301 	301 	924 (+60)
15 	 New Mexico State       318 	308 	301 	927 (+63)
16 	 San Diego State Univ   325 	303 	316 	944 (+80)
17 	 Eastern Washington U   341 	326 	308 	975 (+111)
BYU Individual Results
Fin. Golfer            Scores
T24  Rachel Newren     79	75	71	225 (+9)
T41  Alexis Edwards    80	77	72	229 (+13)
T43  Juli Wightman     80	73	77	230 (+14)
T46  Natalie Newren    74	76	81	231 (+15)
T56  Margaret Gibby    79	81	74	234 (+18)
T68  Ashley Childers*  80	74	85	239 (+13)
*competed as an individual