By Camilla Scott
BYU had to beat Washington State in the Utah Dixie Classic.
And they did.
They are now one step closer to regionals.
BYU hosted the tournament in St. George on Monday and Tuesday and finished sixth, leading Washington State by nine strokes.
“Washington was big,” sophomore Carrie Summerhays said. “It was almost us or them.”
Summerhays, named McLeodUSA Mountain West Conference Women’s Golfer of the Week for her performance last week, shot two rounds of 74 and a round of 75 to finish 10th in the Dixie tournament.
Head coach Gary Howard said the team had solid drives the first day, but struggled a little with putting. Despite some errors in the first round, Howard was optimistic and confident that they would be corrected in the second day of play.
And they had a few good rounds Summerhays said.
“Everybody chipped in for us,” Summerhays said. “We did what we needed to.”
Jessica Gardner said both Howard and designated coach for this tournament, Sue Nyhus, were excited about the results.
With their long, hot and hectic tournament over, BYU has two weeks off before the Mountain West Conference tournament in St. George on Apr. 24-26.
They’ll spend a lot of that time studying.
“We need to get caught up with school,” Summerhays said.
The team is going to finish their homework and finals and then focus on playing their best golf Gardner said.
That focus will come as the golfers practice hard to sharpen their skills.
“We’re pretty good off the tee,” Summerhays said. “But we need to gain confidence for conference.”
Confifdence comes as the BYU golfers pick the skills to improve and work from there Summerhays said. After finals, they will begin to really polish and prepare for conference and a possible regional appearance.
A regional invitation depends on BYU’s win-loss record against their district. The win over Washington helps BYU, but they will not receive any official invitation until the end of April.
