Women's Golf Begins Spring Season

After a successful fall campaign, the BYU women's golf team starts its spring season with hopes of improving its regional ranking in the Bay Area Golf Classic on Monday.

"Our spring season is pretty simple as far as what we have to accomplish to qualify for regionals," head coach Gary Howard said. "There are a few key teams we have to beat in head-to-head competition."

BYU will face two of those key teams in the Bay Area Classic. Host Cal State and Nevada Reno are both ranked higher than BYU, but Howard feels confident in his team's ability to beat both schools. BYU must also compete well against 13th-ranked Pepperdine, who is considered the favorite in a field of 18 teams.

"As far as we're concerned, there are only three other teams besides us in this tournament (Pepperdine, Cal, and Nevada-Reno)," Howard said. "If we can finish third or higher it would be a big step for us to qualify for regionals."

BYU will be led by senior Nicole Parry and sophomore Carrie Summerhays. Both are coming off top-10 finishes in the Rainbow Wahine Fall Golf Classic. Junior Summer Pierce and sophomores Jessica Gardner and Adrianne Gibby will also compete for the Cougars.