ST. GEORGE, Utah - One hundred and twenty players teed it up Monday morning at 8 a.m. sharp to battle out the Utah Dixie Classic championship amongst 22 top teams. BYU had a slow start in the opening 27 holes but has already made a comeback in the second round that will be finished on Tuesday at Sunbrook G.C.
The Cougars shot at 313 in the first round with a 153 nine-hole total for second round, which will be completed on Tuesday along with round 3.
"We played mediocre, but we have a good start going into the second round," said head coach Sue Nyhus. " However, we're going to need some good playing in order to do what we need to do. Our focus for tomorrow will be picking smart targets again and playing aggressive toward them."
Leading the Cougars was sophomore Margaret Gibby, who is currently tied for 14th position individually. Gibby carded a 77 in her first round and also holds an even-par 36 going into Tuesday's first nine holes.
"I had so many opportunities for birdie and only made one of them," Gibby said. "Every time I hit the green, I hit it inside of 15 feet and just could not take advantage of it. It was tough to get everything together. This just means everything will fall for me tomorrow. I want to go low, and also plan on it."
Also sitting in the top 20 position is sophomore Natalie Newren, who shot a four-over-par 76 to sit tied for 19th. Newren continues her second round Tuesday with a 38 on the front nine of Woodbridge.
BYU's lowest score belonged to freshman Danielle von Arnim, who played as an individual and shot her career-low 72. This even-par score included a two-under par back-nine score of 34 on the Point nine.
"I was hitting it close all day and everything came together," von Armin said. "I focused on each nine separately and not the entire round. Tomorrow I'm planning on picking better targets for my driver."
Leading the tournament with the score of 296 and a five-shot lead over Nevada is San Francisco. San Francisco's two top players Jordan Auten and Joan M. Shimozaki are leading the event tied at 108. Auten shot 75 in the first round and will begin with a one-under-par 35 in her second round. Shimozaki carded a one-under-par 71 in the first round and will start with a 37 on Tuesday. Both hold a one-shot lead over Denver's Sara Silva.
Tuesday's round of 27 holes will begin at 8 a.m. with a shot-gun start.
Finish Top 20 schools Scores
1 San Francisco, U. of 296 151 296 +15
2 Nevada, U. of 301 151 301 +20
3 UC Irvine 299 156 299 +23
T4 Denver, Univ. of 308 149 308 +25
T4 Idaho, University of 303 154 303 +25
T6 Portland State Univ. 313 146 313 +27
T6 CSU-Northridge 305 154 305 +27
8 UNLV 307 154 307 +29
9 San Diego State Univ 317 146 317 +31
10 Brigham Young Univ. 313 153 313 +34
T11 Colorado, U. of 303 164 303 +35
T11 Washington State U. 308 159 308 +35
13 Colorado State Univ. 316 154 316 +38
14 Boise State Univ. 318 157 318 +43
T15 Hawaii, Univ. of 313 163 313 +44
T15 Campbell University 320 156 320 +44
17 Weber State Univ. 324 154 324 +46
18 Montana, Univ. of 320 161 320 +49
19 Montana State Univ. 324 165 324 +57
Finish School Scores
1 San Francisco, U. of 296 151 296
T1 Jordan Auten 73 35 108
T1 Joan M. Shimozaki 71 37 108
T19 Susannah Laing 75 39 114
T43 Lyndsey Devenish 77 40 117
T65 Lisa Chen 81 40 121
