LAS -- With the first round completed in the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown the BYU women's golf team is tied for 11th place after finishing with a 13-over-par 301.
"We are competing against another strong field," BYU head coach Sue Nyhus said. "We look forward to moving up in the standings tomorrow. We are working hard to improve our short game, and hopefully we will make some improvements."
The Cougars are competing in the 54-hole event at Angel Park Golf Club, a par 72 6,083-yard course. It is the first time the course has hosted the event.
No. 12 Tennessee leads the 18-team field with its 6-under-par 282. The field includes twelve teams ranked in the top 50. The Cougars round out the nine teams in the top 30 with their No. 29 ranking.
BYU trails conference opponents New Mexico and TCU, who finished the first round in ninth and tenth place, respectively. UNLV is tied for 14th, and CSU is tied for 16th.
Strong performances from both Natalia Jimenez and Ashley Childers anchored the team during the first round of play.
Jimenez finished with a 1-over-par 73. She began 2-over-par on the back nine and recovered with three birdies and two bogeys on the front nine to end 1-over.
Childers began with two bogeys on the 13th and 14th holes but recovered with two birdies on the 17th and 18th holes to complete the back nine at even-par. Two bogeys on the first and second holes left Childers 2-over-par for the day.
The Cougars will look to improve their performance Tuesday when they will begin the second round of the Showdown at 7:30 a.m.
Pl. TeamRd. 1to par
1No. 12 Tennessee282-6
2No. 17 Denver285-3
3No. 9 Arizona287-1
4No. 13 Kent State291+3
T5No. 16 Oklahoma State 292+4
T5No. 46 Missouri 292+4
T7No. 14 Pepperdine296+8
T7No. 34 Texas A&M296+8
9No. 25 New Mexico298+10
10No. 22 TCU299+13
T11No. 29 BYU301+13
T11Washington301+13
13Southern Methodist302+14
T14UNLV305+17
T14Eastern Washington305+17
T16CSU308+20
T16No. 50 Idaho308+50
18Long Beach State323+35
Pl. PlayerRd. 1to par
T19Natalia Jimenez 73+1
T27Ashley Childers 47+2
T51Jade Bollinger* 76+4
T58Juli Erekson77+5
T58Juli Erekson77+5
T81Hannah Summerhays81+9
*Competing as an individual