Garner leads Cougars to third place finish

Day 1 Recap

Day 2 Recap

BREMERTON, Wash. – Lea Garner shot a final round 76 (+4) to preserve a third place finish for BYU at the West Coast Conference Golf Championships Wednesday.

The Cougars shot their best team score of the tournament during today’s final round finishing with a third round 307 (+19) and tournament total 928 (+64). Appearing in just their second WCC Championship tournament, BYU’s third place finish is their best as members of the WCC, following last year’s sixth place finish at the conference tournament.

“I thought we played solid,” BYU head coach Carrie Roberts said. “Each day we had a few holes that got us, but overall it was positive – top three, best finish of the year. Lea was outstanding.”

Consistent play throughout the tournament helped steady the Cougars in the third spot for most of the tournament. BYU finished 12 strokes better than fourth place Santa Clara (+76), while No. 24 Pepperdine won the tournament at 19-over-par with Gonzaga coming in second place at 36-over-par.

Coming off two top-20 finishes in her last two tournaments, Garner had a strong showing at the WCC Championships. Carding a four-over 76 during the final round, Garner finished the tournament in fifth place at eight-over-par, her best career finish. She made three birdies on the day, in addition to nine pars.

Following the tournament, Garner was named to the 2013 All-West Coast Conference Women’s Golf Team after completing a strong freshman season.

“Lea’s very determined and competitive,” Roberts said. “It’s fun to see her grow and I think she’ll just keep getting better and better.”

Junior Annika Kahaiali’i shot a final round 80 (+8), converting one birdie and ten pars. She finished the tournament in 12^th place at 19-over-par, her first top-20 finish of the season.

Senior Amanda Keith showed steady improvement throughout the tournament scoring a final round 75 (+3), her best round of the tournament. Keith finished the 54-hole tournament at 21-over-par to tie for 14^th place on the individual leaderboard.

Both Kahaiali’i and Keith were recognized as 2013 All-West Coast Conference honorable mentions following the conclusion of the tournament.

Junior Selu Fotu and sophomore Lauren Atkinson both shot 78 during the third round placing 18^th and 21^st respectively in the individual standings. Fotu made one birdie and 11 pars, while Atkinson added 13 pars of her own during the final round.

The Cougars will look to build upon this season’s experience next year as they embark on their third season in the West Coast Conference.

Individual Scores

Team Scores

2013 WCC All-Conference Awards

Women's Golf Player of the Year

Grace Na, Jr., Pepperdine

Women's Golf Freshman of the Year

Raychelle Santos, Gonzaga

Women's Golf Coach of the Year

Brad Rickel

2013 ALL-WEST COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S GOLF TEAM

Liv Cheng, Jr., Pepperdine

Alina Ching, So., Pepperdine

Marissa Chow, Fr., Pepperdine

Victoria Fallgren, Sr., Gonzaga

Lea Garner, Fr., BYU

Balbina Guajardo, Sr., Santa Clara

Alice Kim, So., Gonzaga

Grace Na, Jr., Pepperdine

Raychelle Santos, Fr., Gonzaga

Han Wu, So., Gonzaga

2013 ALL-WEST COAST CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION

Taylor Camany, Santa Clara; Annika Kahaiali'i, BYU; Peppiina Kaija, San Francisco; Amanda Keith, BYU; Somin Lee, Pepperdine; Ashley Noda, Santa Clara; Monique Riley, Santa Clara