PROVO -- BYU's women's golf is headed back to the NCAA Championship for the first time in 20 years thanks to an impressive sixth-place finish at the NCAA West Regional on May 7.
The Cougars head back to Sunriver Resort, the Meadows Course in Sunriver, Oregon on May 17-20 to battle against the top 24 teams in the nation.
"It's a tremendous accomplishment to get back to the NCAA Championship," BYU head coach Sue Nyhus said. "This is a great opportunity for our team, and we're ready to play. We've been gearing up for this all year."
The Cougars last played in an NCAA Golf Championship in 1985 when Nyhus was a member of BYU's women's golf team. In her fourth year as head coach, Nyhus is heading back for the first time since then.
Although the NCAA Championship is new terrain for many of BYU's squad, the site is a very familiar place. Sunriver Resort has been home to the Mountain West Conference Golf Championship for the past five years. BYU is the only team in the 24-team field that has played a tournament at Sunriver this season. The Cougars played in the Mountain West Conference Championship on the Meadows Course back on April 21-23.
With Sunriver having roughly the same altitude as Park City, BYU has faced every weather condition possible on the course. According to Nyhus, familiarity with the usually wet and cold conditions at Sunriver will give a cold-weather school such as BYU an added advantage.
"We will be the best prepared team for this course," Nyhus said. "Most of our players have played it (Sunriver) several times and know what to expect."
In the 33-year history of BYU's women's golf program the Cougars have only competed in four national championship tournaments, the last coming in 1985. Interestingly, BYU qualified for the 1985 NCAA finals and 2005 NCAA finals from the same golf course in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
BYU is lead by sophomore Rachel Newren, who was an All-MWC selection and is the No. 32 player in the nation. After a third-place finish at the NCAA regionals and second-place finish at the MWC golf championship, she is ready help lead her team to the best finish in school history. Helping her lead the charge will be seniors Natalie Newren and Margaret Wright. Wright had an impressive 14th-place finish at the NCAA regionals while Newren finished 44th.
"I'm really looking forward to it (NCAA finals)," Wright said. "I really think our hard work and preparation will pay off."
Fans can follow the tournament live on the internet at www.golfstat.com. The golf channel will also air the tournament tape-delayed during the last three rounds. Air times for each round will be from 11 p.m. till 1 a.m. each evening and replayed again the next afternoon at 3 p.m. till 5 p.m.
EXTRA NOTES:
* Assistant coach Dave DeSantis has NCAA championship experience. He was a member of BYU's 1981 National Championship men's golf team.
* Despite the wet, rainy weather that has covered Utah the past two weeks, BYU has been able to prepare for the NCAA Championship in their new indoor practice facility.
BYU GOLF QUICK FACTS
2005 MWC Finish: 4th
2005 NCAA W. Reg Finish: 6th
Head Coach: Sue Nyhus, 4th year
Assistant Coach: Dave DeSantis, 3rd year
Last NCAA Championship Appearance: 1985, finished 14th
Team Stroke Averages
Rachel Newren, So. 74.7
Margaret Wright, Sr. 77.6
Natalie Newren, Sr. 77.8
Alexis Edwards, So. 78.2
Juli Wightman, Fr. 78.3
04-05 Team Top Five Finishes (6)
4th Dick McGuire Invitational 9/04
3rd Ron Moore Classic 9/04
4th Lady Aztec Invitational 10/04
3rd Bay Area Classic 2/05
3rd BYU Dixie Classic 4/05
4th MWC Championship 4/05
BYU in the National Rankings
No. 33 Golfstat Head-to-Head Rankings
No. 38 Golfweek Team Rankings
Rachel Newren - Individual Rankings
No. 32 Golfstat Cup
No. 39 Golfweek Individual Rankings