SOCCER -- Grade:C-
Despite beating Utah for the first time in three tries, the BYU women's soccer team failed to advance to the NCAA tournament and suffered its first-ever losing season.
The Cougars finished 7-10-4 overall and 3-1-2 in the Mountain West Conference, losing to seventh seed Air Force 2-1 in their final game.
Although the Cougars finished third in the MWC, they came across many firsts this season. It was the first time they failed to advance to the NCAA tournament, the first time they lost to Air Force, the first time they lost to Wyoming, the first time they lost a game in the conference tournament and the first time they failed to win the conference title in the regular season.
Junior forward Jaime Rendich proved to be a bright spot for the Cougars, leading all scorers in the MWC with nine goals. Freshman goalkeeper Erika Woodbury, who posted a 1.18 goals-against average, received MWC Freshman of the Year honors.
VOLLEYBALL -- Grade:B-
Although the BYU women's volleyball team struggled early, they had some high notes and showed promise throughout the season despite not earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament for just the third time in the last 25 years.
After three preseason tournaments, the Cougars posted a 5-4 record, with two of those four losses being ranked teams including No. 8 Penn State and No. 6 UCLA.
BYU recorded six sweeps against conference opponents and finished the year with four players being named to the All-MWC team, including Lindsey Metcalf, Lindsy Hartsock, Lauren Richards and Kim Wilson.
Despite the positives, BYU did not receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament as a 'bubble team' and only won 19 matches along with its 11 losses.
CROSS COUNTRY -- Grade:B+
Just before Thanksgiving break, the season came to an end for BYU women's cross country with their eight-place finish at the NCAA Championship.
Early in the season, the Cougars lost their No. 1 runner, Kassi Andersen, when she was hit by a car and taken out for the season. From there, the Cougars had to decide how they would function without Andersen.
'You finish in the top eight at nationals, and you've done well,' cross country coach Patrick Shane said. 'You know when you consider the team started out with the realization that our top returning athlete, Kassi Andersen, had been in a serious accident and wouldn't be running, we have to feel pretty good about finishing eighth.'
As the season came to an end, many of the Cougars got individual awards for their racing. After she won the MWC race, Laura Turner was named MWC Female Athlete of the Year. After the same race, Heidi Magill was named the MWC Freshman of the Year. At the NCAA Championship, Turner gained her fourth All-American title, an honor only obtained by one other BYU cross country athlete ever, Elizabeth Jackson in the 1996-1999 seasons. Turner also got fourth in the race, tying Michaela Mannova, who got fourth last year, for the best finish in the NCAA Championships by a BYU athlete.
TENNIS -- Grade:B+
The women's tennis team came into the fall with high hopes after finishing the 2003-2004 campaign ranked in the Top 20 in the country for most of the season and winning the MWC Championship over New Mexico.
As a result of their finish, the Cougars had a chance to advance to the ITA nationals. At the end of October, they beat Colorado in the first of a two-match playoff, facing old rival New Mexico for the right to go to the nationals, eventually falling by a team score of 4-1. After winning five of six matches against Colorado, the girls wore down at the end, as their rivalry with the Lobos looks to continue into the winter.
'The girls fought really hard,' head coach Craig Manning said afterwards. 'At the end we just ran out of steam ... I guess it was just too much tennis against a very good New Mexico team.'
The Cougars look to be well rested for the start of their winter campaign.
GOLF -- Grade:B-
The BYU women's golf team began the semester ranked No. 49 and finished ranked No. 37.
'This is the best team BYU has ever fielded,' head coach Sue Nyhus said.
Nyhus attributed the success of the team to the team's closeness.
'This is the most enjoyable team I could imagine,' Nyhus said.
The Cougars finished in the Top 10 in four out of five of the fall tournaments, and improvements they've seen this season have been in putting stats and average scoring.
'I've been impressed by everyone shooting a consistent 73,' Nyhus said.
The women will have their first opportunity to show their improvements on Feb. 21at their first tournament of next semester.
BASKETBALL -- Grade:B
The BYU women's basketball team is off to a strong 4-1 start this season.
'We're playing with a lot more confidence,' head coach Jeff Judkins said.
Judkins said the women are playing more as a team and are improving everyday in things they're working on.
'Danielle Cheesman and Julie Sullivan are playing the best basketball I've ever seen them play,' Judkins said. 'Everybody's going out of their way to play better.'
Sullivan is averaging 10.6 points per game and has 21 total assists. Cheesman is averaging 9.4 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
SWIMMING AND DIVING -- Grade:B-
The swimming and diving season is almost half over, but it's still hard to say where exactly they stand.
In their first meet of the season against non-BYU opponents, the women tied Utah, with both teams getting 144 points. At that meet, the women won both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events.
Over the next few weeks, the Cougars beat MWC foes San Diego State and New Mexico, but fell to UNLV. The swimmers finished up the fall season with a sixth-place finish at the Speedo Cup, while the divers dominated at the BYU Diving Invitational last weekend.
The women will continue their swimming and diving season with their first competition of 2005 on Jan. 15.