BYU Wins UNLV Spring Invitational

BOULDER CITY -- The No. 35 BYU women's golf team battled hard at the UNLV Spring Invitational to secure a first-place tie with Washington State.

"We just keep playing better and better," said BYU head coach Sue Nyhus. "Our team is getting more confidence in each other and in their individual abilities."

This was BYU's second consecutive victory at the UNLV Spring Invitational and their first win on the season. After finishing round two in second place at 1-over-par, the combined efforts of several Cougars pushed the team to victory in round three. Freshman Jade Bollinger led BYU and boasted a career-high score at the tournament, as she shot under par in each round and finished 71-71-70-212. In round three, Bollinger fired an impressive 2-under-par 70, hitting four birdies on the back nine.

Sophomore Daphne Vines shot 1-under-par 71 to boost the Cougar score in the final round. For senior Juli Erekson, round three proved to be come-back time as she fired 3-under-par 69 to advance from 46th to 25th place overall in the tournament.

"Our team is on the rise," Nyhus said. "This is just the beginning of great play this season."

The UNLV Spring Invitational consisted of 96 competitors from 18 teams, including No. 45 Indiana University and No. 46 Washington. The overall individual winner was Cathryn Bristow of Oregon, who shot 69-69-70-212. Washington State tied with BYU for first place at 5-under-par, followed by Oregon in third place.

"In the next few weeks, we hope to continue to develop more confidence and improve our shots," Nyhus said.

The Cougars will next be in action at the BYU Dixie Classic on April 1 and 2 in St. George, Utah.

TEAM LEADERBOARD
Place     School               Total
T1        BYU                  293-284-282--859  -5
T1        Washington State     285-289-285--859  -5
3         Oregon               292-291-286--869  +5
T4        Texas Tech           292-286-292--870  +6
T4        San Francisco, U.    291-290-289--870  +1
6         UNLV                 284-302-287--873  +9
7         UC Davis             296-294-285--875  +11
8         Campbell Univ.       297-293-293--883  +19
9         Idaho                297-293-297--887  +23
10        Washington           293-297-298--888  +24
11        Indiana Univ.        295-299-295--889  +25
12        Fresno State         301-293-296--890  +26
13        Colorado State       304-294-303--901  +37
14        Sacramento State     299-301-302--902  +38
15        New Mexico State     305-302-296--903  +39
16        Kansas State         311-301-303--915  +51
17        Eastern Washington   322-315-290--927  +63
18        Long Beach State     321-309-310--940  +76
Player Leaderboard
Place     Player               Total
T3        Jade Bollinger       71-71-70--212  -4
T8        Daphne Vines         72-71-71--214  -2
T13       Natalia Jimenez      73-70-72--215  -1
T25       Juli Erekson         77-74-69--220  +4
T47       Ashley Childers      78-72-76--226  +10