Cougars Place Third at the 2005 Bay Area Classic

SAN JOSE -- The BYU women's golf team wrapped up their spring season debut at the 2005 Bay Area Classic, finishing in third place behind co-hosts San Francisco and San Jose State.

The Cougars (628) held off fourth-place Fresno State by one stroke and finished just three strokes back of tournament champion USF (625) and two strokes back of second-place San Jose (626).

Sophomore Rachel Newren, who started the day in a two-way tie for the leader spot, pulled out a 5-over-par 77 in the second round to finish in third place, one stroke shy of first place.

Although Rachel finished the tournament with a season-best finish, she said she struggled during the final round of play, especially on the greens.

"I held it together," Rachel said. "It wasn't spectacular and it wasn't horrible. It was a tough day for putting. I was tracking the ball really well, but I had some trouble around the greens. My putts just weren't falling."

Danielle Von Arnim (82-75) and Alexis Edwards (81-76) also helped propel the Cougars to their third-place finish as both finished up the tournament 13-over-par and in a tie for 13th place. Juli Wightman, who shot an 85 yesterday, rounded off BYU's four qualifying scores with a second-round 78.

According to Natalie Newren (85-79), the team made some necessary improvements after the opening round, especially on the greens, where the Cougars had approximately seven three-putts in the first round.

"Our putting was a lot better today," Natalie said. "The wind and sun really hardened up the greens, making them faster. The coaches gave us some tips after yesterday's round. We tried to use some imagery when we putted, imagining where the ball would go and keeping our putts a little short of the hole."

Both Rachel and Natalie Newren said they attribute the Cougars' success in this tournament to the fortunate golfing conditions the team has had to practice in at home in Provo.

"Coming out of the indoor practice facility and having a warm winter has been really nice," Rachel said. "We felt good coming out of the gate, so to say. It's allowed us to keep our game sharp."

The women have nearly two weeks to fine-tune their skills before traveling back to San Jose for the Spartan Invitational March 7-9.

The Golf Club at Boulder Ridge - Par 72 - 6,095 yards
TEAM RESULTS
1.  San Fracisco           318-307--625
2.  San Jose State         320-306--626     
3.  BYU                    322-306--628     
4.  Fresno State           310-319--629     
T5. UC-Irvine              331-305--636     
T5. Hawaii                 318-318--636     
7.  Portland State         330-321--651     
8.  Mississippi            323-331--654     
9.  San Diego State        328-328--656     
10. Cal Poly               326-334--660     
11. Long Beach State       336-327--663     
12. Santa Clara            345-333--678     
13. Notre Dame de Namur    426-392--818     
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
T1.  Joan M. Shimozaki      USF            77-73--150
T1.  Dale Gammie            Hawaii         76-74--150
T3.  Rachel Newren          BYU            74-77--151
T13. Danielle Von Arnim     BYU            82-75--157
T13. Alexis Edwards         BYU            81-76--157
T28. Juli Wightman          BYU            85-78--163
T28. Ashley Childers*       BYU            83-80--163
T32. Natalie Newren         BYU            85-79--164
* Competed as an individual