ST. GEORGE -- Thanks to an impressive first round, Brigham Young University is in fourth place at the 19th annual Dixie Classic at Entrada at Snow Canyon on Monday.
The Cougars scored their second best opening round of the season (300) on the challenging Entrada at Snow Canyon course. As afternoon winds picked up, so did the scores and Cougars finished the day with a second round 314.
"I thought we played excellent golf in the first 18 holes," BYU head coach Sue Nyhus said. "We're an excellent ball-striking team that needs to continue to improve our putting."
The Cougars were led by the steady play of Junior Natalie Newren. Newren ended the day tied for eigth after scoring a pair of 75s.
"I was really impressed with the way Natalie (Newren) played today," BYU assitant head coach Dave DeSantis said. "She was very consistent and was hitting the ball very well."
Natalie's two siblings Rachel and Nicole also had strong outings. Rachel, who battled through a shoulder injury all day, was eight-over-par (75-77). Competing in her first Dixie Classic, Rachel sits in 14th place while Nicole finished the day two strokes back and in 16th place. Margaret Gibby was 16-over-par and tied for 32nd place while freshman Alexis Edwards was in 47th place and 19 over.
Defending champion UNLV made a statement in the second round shooting a blistering 291 to jump into a 15 stroke lead after trailing second-place San Francisco by two stokes in the first round. UNLV was led by individual leader Sunny Oh, who holds a four-stroke lead at two-under par.
The 57th-ranked Cougars trail conference rival No. 43 San Diego State (Third place) by three strokes heading into the final round. The University of San Francisco, ranked No. 32 holds a 12-shot advantage over the Cougars. UNLV, the highest ranked team in the field of 13 teams at No. 21, hopes to continue its hot streak during Tuesday's final round.
Follow the tournament with live updates and scoring at www.golfstat.com throughout Tuesday's third and final round. Players will tee off at 8:10 Mountain Standard Time on Tuesday
TEAM LEADERS
1 UNLV +11 296 291 587
2 San Francisco +26 294 308 602
3 San Diego State +35 297 314 611
4 Brigham Young +38 300 314 614
5 Colorado State +45 318 303 621
6 Portland State +50 314 312 626
7 Nevada +55 317 314 631
8 Weber State +63 323 316 639
9 Hawaii +64 322 318 640
10 Colorado +65 320 321 641
11 Long Beach St. +73 314 335 649
12 Montana State +76 320 332 652
13 Wyoming +104 346 334 680
INDIVIDUAL SCORES
1 Sunny Oh, UNLV -2 70 72 142
T2 Heather MacRae, Diego State +2 71 75 146
T2 Seema Sadekar, UNLV +2 73 73 146
T4 Dale Gammie, Hawaii +3 71 76 147
T4 Dawna Virdell, Colorado State +3 76 71 147
6 Hannah Hoch, Colorado +4 76 72 148
7 Mariko Shimozaki, San Francisco +5 73 76 149
T8 Natalie Newren, Brigham Young +6 75 75 150
T8 Jenna Wilson, San Diego State +6 70 80 150
T10 Jordan Auten, San Francisco +7 72 79 151
T10 Nikki Jacoby, San Francisco +7 74 77 151
T10 Kristi Larsen, San Francisco +7 75 76 151
T10 Rebecca Randolph, Portland State +7 73 78 151
T14 Hwanhee Lee, UNLV +8 77 75 152
T14 Rachel Newren, Brigham Young +8 75 77 152
16 Lynette Duran, Colorado State +9 80 73 153
T17 Nicole de Gennaro, Nevada +10 78 76 154
T17 Shayna Miyajima, San Diego State +10 75 79 154
T17 Nicole Newren-Chandler, Brigham Young +10 73 81 154
T17 Sara Odelius, Hawaii +10 81 73 154
T17 Young Pak, UNLV +10 76 78 154
T22 Christine Hentzner, UNLV +12 74 82 156
T22 Lynsey Myers, Weber State Univ. +12 76 80 156
T24 Margaret Garehime, Colorado State +13 78 79 157
T24 Erin LaPlaunt, Nevada +13 79 78 157
T24 Amy Mombert, Weber State +13 81 76 157
T27 Marci Hoover, Weber State +14 81 77 158
T27 Marie Louise Juul, Long Beach State +14 76 82 158
T27 Toni Lutz, San Diego State +14 77 81 158
T30 Alana Condon, Nevada +15 78 81 159
T30 Kayla Morrison, Wyoming +15 81 78 159
T32 Margaret Gibby, Brigham Young +16 77 83 160
T32 Lisa Kajihara, Portland State +16 79 81 160
T32 Erica Leslie, Montana State +16 77 83 160
T32 Danielle Reilly, Portland State +16 85 75 160
T32 Eloise Vicencio, Long Beach State +16 78 82 160
47 T46 Alexis Edwards, Brigham Young +19 82 81 163