Cougars Start Strong at MWC Tournament

LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. -- The BYU women's golf team moved into third place with three Cougars sitting in the top-5 after day one of the Mountain West Conference Championship concluded on Thursday in Litchfield Park, Ariz.

"We hung in there today," said BYU head coach Carrie Roberts. "We started poorly, but we came back strong and are now in position to make a move tomorrow."

With three of the Cougars' five competitors in the top-5, BYU compiled a first-round total of 292 (+4, just six strokes behind leader UNLV, four away from TCU and four from second place.)

Junior Maggie Yuan, who finished tied for fourth at last year's MWC Championship, led all Cougars with a first-round 71 (-1). She recorded three birdies on the day en route to moving into a tie for fourth place overall.

The par-72 Wigwam Golf Course, established in 1929, is the site of this year's Championship.

"The course is very nice and the weather has been beautiful," Roberts said. "We are going to have to put up more low scores over the next couple of days and I think that is definitely possible."

Kelsey Vines and Jade Bollinger each shot even-par rounds of 72 and are tied for fifth going into day two. Bollinger birdied three of her final six holes to make a late surge, while Vines was even until carding a birdie on 18.

After going four over on the front nine, freshman Annika Afoa shot a 1-over 37 after the turn to finish with a 5-over 77 and move into a tie for 27th place.

After finishing 35th at last year's tournament, Amanda Keith carded a first-round 83 (+11) to move into a tie for 34th place.

The second of three rounds begins tomorrow at 8 a.m. MDT. Follow the action live by clicking HERE or by visiting www.golfstat.com.

The Field - 2011 MWC Championship
1.   UNLV 
2.   TCU 
3.   BYU 
4.   San Diego State
5.   Colorado State
6.   New Mexico
5.   Wyoming
3    Brigham Young University        +4                           292
_____________________________________________________________________________
T4   Maggie Yuan                     -1    71                      71
T6   Kelsey Vines                     E    72                      72
T6   Jade Bollinger                   E    72                      72
T26  Annika Afoa                     +5    77                      77
T34  Amanda Keith                   +11    83                      83