ALBUQUERQUE -- The BYU women's golf team moved up three spots after the second round of the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational, ending the day in ninth place after junior Alexis Edwards carded a career-low 3-under-par 70.
Edwards' round was the third-lowest total of the day in the 98-golfer field and catapulted her from 33rd place to a tie for 12th. She scored five birdies on Tuesday, including three in a row on the back nine, and fell over par on only two holes.
"Alexis played great for us today," BYU head coach Sue Nyhus said. "After that, our round was pretty mediocre again."
Although the Cougars fell one stroke behind their opening-round total of 302, finishing with an 11-over 303, they moved up from 12th place in a field that Nyhus said has become more separated.
"It kind of turned into two different tournaments today," Nyhus said. "There are those who will start tomorrow close to par, and then the rest of us will start at 17-over."
Pepperdine and Texas A&M lead the pack at 2-over 586, and the rest of the top six teams are separated by less than seven strokes. After that, seventh-place California falls 15 shots from the lead while BYU is 19 behind.
After tying for 33rd on Day 1, Junior Rachel Newren slipped to 37th place after a 4-over 77, two strokes more than her first-round total, and sophomore Juli Wightman fell to 41st by scoring a 78 (+5).
Playing as an individual, sophomore Ashley Childers cut seven strokes from her opening round to shoot a 3-over 76, and freshman Natalia Jimenez and junior Danielle von Arnim scored 78 and 79, respectively.
"We just need to stay focused and put the ball in a position where we can score," Nyhus said. "We're looking forward to playing better tomorrow."
The Cougars will begin the final round at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Results and live scoring are available at www.golfstat.com.
Results after Round 2
Fin. Team Score
T1 Pepperdine 296-290--586 (+2)
T1 Texas A&M 294-292--586 (+2)
3 Ohio State 287-300--587 (+3)
T4 New Mexico 297-291--588 (+4)
T4 UNLV 293-295--588 (+4)
6 USC 293-300--593 (+1)
7 Cal Berkeley 297-304--601 (+17)
8 Baylor 301-303--604 (+20)
9 BYU 302-303--605 (+21)
10 TCU 304-303--607 (+23)
11 UTEP 309-299--608 (+24)
12 Tulsa 305-304--609 (+25)
T13 South Carolina 300-312--612 (+28)
T13 Colorado State 302-310--612 (+28)
15 New Mexico State 300-314--614 (+30)
16 San Diego State 298-317--615 (+31)
17 Texas Tech 314-305--619 (+35)
18 Hawaii 328-312--640 (+56)
BYU Individual Results
Fin. Golfer Score
T12 Alexis Edwards 75-70--145 (-1)
T37 Rachel Newren 75-76--151 (+5)
T41 Juli Wightman 75-78--153 (+7)
T60 Natalia Jimenez 77-78--155 (+9)
T79 Ashley Childers* 83-76--159 (+13)
T87 Danielle von Arnim 82-79--161 (+15)
*Competing as an individual