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.”