CHANDLER, Ariz. -- In final preparation for the Mountain West Conference tournament, the BYU women's golf team finished day one of the Wyoming Cowgirl classic Monday in fifth place behind a strong start from Maggie Yuan.
After shooting a 20-over 88 in round one, the Cougars rallied to shave seven strokes off that pace and finish day one 33 over par and just 11 strokes out of second place among the 23-team field.
"We came back well after a disappointing first round," said BYU head coach Carrie Roberts. "Some girls stepped up and posted some good scores to keep us in contention."
Yuan, a junior, shot consecutive rounds of 74 to put her at four over after the first day and move her into a tie for 11th place going into the final round. Yuan is still recovering from an ankle sprain suffered a week ago that kept her from competing in the annual BYU Entrada Classic.
"Maggie is playing well and her effort is great," Roberts said. "She has had to adjust her swing a little, but she is impressive."
Sophomore Kelsey Vines carded a second-round 73 (+1) to move up 11 spots from round one and into a tie for 15th place. Freshman Annika Afoa joins Yuan and Vines in the top-25 after finishing day one eight over par (79-73).
Senior Jade Bollinger and sophomore Amanda Keith, who is competing as an individual, are tied for 60th and 77th respectively going into the final round. Senior Emily Copier is tied for 93rd after first and second rounds of 85 and 81.
Final round action begins Tuesday at 8:30 am MDT. Follow the action live by clicking HERE or by visiting www.golfstat.com.
The Field - 2011 Wyoming Cowgirl Classic
1. Portland State
2. New Mexico State
3. Texas El Paso
4. Northern Arizona
5. BYU
5. UC Riverside
T7. Wyoming
T7. Boise State
9. Seattle
10. Montana
11. Northern Colorado
12. Louisiana Monroe
T13. Xavier
T13. Cal Poly
15. Sacramento State
16. Southern Utah
17. Weber State
18. Montana State
19. South Dakota State
20. Eastern Washington
21. Santa Clara
22. Eastern Washington
23. Idaho State
5 Brigham Young University +33 308 301 609
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T11 Maggie Yuan +4 74 74 148
T15 Kelsey Vines +6 77 73 150
T25 Annika Afoa +8 79 73 152
T60 Jade Bollinger +16 78 72 160
T93 Emily Copier +22 85 81 166
T77 Amanda Keith* +19 81 82 163
* competing as an individual