Men roll at Cougar Classic, women finish 5th in MWC
For the third consecutive year, the CSU men’s golf team won
Brigham Young University’s Cougar Classic on Friday and Saturday,
but this time it did it in come-from-behind fashion.
Holding a fourth-place tie after the first two rounds, the Rams
shot a 16-under-par 272 in the final round to secure a 19-under
total score and the tournament crown.
“I thought we played really solid,” said CSU head coach Jamie
Bermel. “Martin (Laird) and Nolan (Martin) played great.”
Senior Martin Laird, the leader of the Rams’ comeback, was tied
for 12th after the first two rounds, but after a final round,
8-under score of 64, he ended the tournament tied for first. Trying
to defend the individual Cougar Classic title that he won last
year, Laird entered a sudden-death playoff but fell into second
place.
Fellow senior Nolan Martin took fourth place with a three-round
score of 207, one behind Laird.
The Cougar Classic wrapped up the regular season for the Rams
and they will now look to the Mountain West Conference
Championship, Tuesday through Saturday in Sunriver, Ore.
“I think the guys feel pretty good about their games,” Bermel
said. “I want to go up there and play well. If we play well,
everything else will take care of itself.”
Women take 5th at MWC Championships
Instead of a last-round comeback, the CSU women’s golf team
started off strong in the Mountain West Conference Championship but
fell in the second round. After day one, the Rams were in third
place with four Rams in the top 15, but that was the highest the
Rams got in the standings.
“Our second round hurt us, but we did play well in the other two
rounds,” said CSU head coach Angie Hopkins. “Our fairways and
on-the-green percentage were good. We just didn’t get the putts
in.”
CSU fell to fifth in the second round and stayed there through
the third and final round, finishing with a three-round score of
890. UNLV won the tournament with a score of 856. New Mexico
followed in second at 858. Eight of the top 10 finishers were
Rebels or Lobos.
“UNLV and New Mexico have great players and it was a great
competition. It just shows how far women’s collegiate golf has
come,” Hopkins said.
Junior Lynette Duran was the top shooter for the Rams. She tied
for seventh with a 4-over score. Trisha Quick, also a junior, took
17th.
“Lynette was really in the hunt for the first two rounds, so
that was exciting to have someone going for the individual title,”
Hopkins said.
The tournament concluded the 2003-04 season for the Rams, as
they did not qualify for the NCAA West Regional Championships.
“We had a great year. We had four top five finishes,” Hopkins
said. “Everybody improved their scoring averages and that is the
kind of improvement we want to see.”
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