BYU women's golf team played exceptionally well this season and took 12th in the NCAA Lubbock Regional this year. (BYU Photo)
The BYU women’s golf team finished its season after taking 12th place at the NCAA Lubbock Regional last week.
It was a successful year for the Cougars, as they placed in the top three for 11 of their 12 matches and multiple players gained national recognition for their play.
BYU coach Carrie Roberts was named West Coast Conference Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. Roberts has been with BYU since 2010 and has led the Cougars to four regular-season tournament wins as well as a WCC Championship title.
Kendra Dalton was named WCC Player of the Year. She was the top-rated player in the conference, ranking No. 81 nationally. She posted a win at the Juli Inkster Spartan Invitational and carded a season-low of 68 at the BYU at Entrada Classic.
Alexandra White was named WCC Player of the Month for April with a 72.67-stroke average in the month. She also tallied three top-10 finishes in each tournament she played in April.
The Cougars started off their season at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate held in Knoxville, Tennessee, with a score of +12, coming in fourth place behind Florida, Illinois, and Kent State.
Rose Huang and Kendra Dalton played well individually and tied for 10th. Anna Kennedy took first with a final score of 67, the lowest single-round score of the tournament.
'We had a good showing in our first fall tournament with a very strong field of women's golf programs,' Roberts said. “We got consistent play from our top four players. Everyone did their part and contributed.”
For the second and third matches, the Cougars placed first at the Juli Inkster Spartan Invitational and the Gonzaga Match Play. Each player played exceptionally well, scoring under par on several holes.
“We’re excited to win and it was nice to have the best round of the tournament,' Roberts said. 'It always helps to have a player go under par. It’s nice to minus numbers rather than add numbers. The course was a good challenge and we figured it out a little bit better than everyone else. Today was tough, but our course management helped us this week and gave us an advantage.'
Over the course of the next seven matches, the Cougars placed second for six matches and had a 5-1 win at the Trilogy Golf Club.
To end the regular season, BYU placed third at the Dale McNamara invitational. The Cougars scored 307-291-291 to finish at +53 for the event and competed in the West Coast Conference Championship the next week.
The Cougars took first place at the 2017 WCC Golf Championship held at Provo’s Riverside Country Club. The win qualified the Cougars for the 2017 NCAA Lubbock Regional.
After playing three rounds of in the NCAA Lubbock Regional, BYU took 12th place with a score of 295.
Alexandra White will continue to compete as an individual in the NCAA championships as one of the top three individuals with a cumulative score of 215 (-1).
BYU finished the season ranked No. 28 in the nation. The team will be losing four of their players to graduation: Lauren Atkinson, Brooklyn Hocker, Alexandra White, and Annie Yang.