Gibby, Edwards shoot low for 12th-place Cougars

LAS -- Junior Margaret Gibby and freshman Alexis Edwards shot a 76 and 75 in the final round to help BYU grab 12th place from UC Irvine at the Las Vegas Founders Showdown, Nov. 10-12.

"Although we didn't place as high as we wanted, the girls gave it their best," BYU head coach Sue Nyhus said. "They showed a lot of heart and improved a lot from the first round."

Gibby bounced back from the first round, shooting a team-low 73 in the second round to tie for 32th place (+13). She shot a birdie in the front nine of the final round and finished out the back nine with solid play.

Edwards improved from the first and second rounds, tying for 43th place (+18). She sank a birdie in the back nine of the last round to score three-over-par.

New Mexico defended their title from last year by winning the Founders Showdown by an 18-shot margin. Katrina Leckovic of New Mexico led individually with a score of 213 (-3).

The women's golf team finished the fall season with the Founders tournament, with their best finishes at the Lady Aztec Invitational in San Diego (3rd) and the Dick McGuire in Albuquerque (5th).

Gibby gave a stellar performance with a personal-best 69 in round one of the Lady Aztec and continued out the tournament tied in third place. In the final round, she shot birdies in three of the last four holes to score a 73 (+1).

Nyhus said she is proud of how the team has played this fall and the improvement they have made through each tournament.

The Newren sisters, Nicole, Natalie and Rachel, in addition to Gibby and Edwards have played in all five tournaments this fall. In the first tournament of the season, the Dick McGuire, the Cougars clenched a 5th-place finish and Edwards captured her top finish at tied at 20th.

The Spring season for the Cougars kicks off Feb. 14-16 at the Wildcat Invitational in Tucson, Arizona, played at the Arizona National Golf Club.