Freshman Paces Cougars after Two Rounds

MENIFEE -- Led by freshman Natalie Newren, the No. 54 BYU women's golf team stands in 10th place (+44, 620) after two grueling rounds at the Pioneer Electronics Bruin Golf Classic. In the first round BYU shot 23-over-par (311), and the Cougars slightly improved in second round play as they carded a 301 (+21).

The tournament is being held at the 18-hole, 6,116 yard par-72 Menifee Lakes Country Club.

"The Greens are really fast and difficult, and that's causing some of our girls to struggle," said head coach Sue Nyhus.

Freshman Natalie Newren, playing in her fifth collegiate tournament, led the way for the Cougars as she shot a career-low 72 (E) as she tied for fourth after the first round. She then carded a 77 (+5) in the second round for a 149 total (+5) to stand in a tie for 11th place after two rounds.

All-American Carrie Summerhays rebounded from a first round six-over 78 to shoot a three-over 75 to stand in a tie for 33rd. Summerhays has previously fared well at the Bruin Classic, finishing eighth in 1999 and 11th in 2000.

"We're within range of the leaders, but we're still not firing on all cylinders like I'd like us to," Nyhus said.

No. 20 Pepperdine leads the field of 16 teams with a 16-over-par 592. Individually Katherine Hull and Lindsey Wright, both from Pepperdine, lead with scores of 143 (-1).

In the 2001 Bruin Classic, the Cougars finished 17th out of 18 teams, and their top finisher was Nicole Newren who finished in a tie for 50th.

The third and final round of the tournament will be held Tuesday.

BYU Individual Scores
t11  Natalie Newren         BYU     72-77    +5
t33  Carrie Summerhays      BYU     78-75    +9	
t50  Lisa Dernick-Hardy     BYU     78-78    +12
t72  Nicole Newren          BYU     85-79    +20
t79  Jessica Gardner        BYU     83-83    +22
   
Fin.    School                   Scores
1      Pepperdine U.            297-295   +16
2      UCLA                     299-297   +20
3      Oklahoma, U. of          303-295   +22
4      New Mexico, U. of        305-301   +30	
5      California, U. of        302-305   +31
6      San Francisco, U. of     304-304   +32
7      San Diego State U.       307-302   +33
8      UNLV                     312-305   +41
       Oregon, U. of            307-310   +41
10     Brigham Young Univ.      311-309   +44
11     UC -- Irvine              308-314   +46
12     CSU - Northridge         310-318   +52
13     Colorado, U. of          313-317   +54
14     Long Beach State         324-312   +60
15     Washington State U.      330-321   +75
16     Portland State U.        325-336   +85