April 23, 2005
SUNRIVER, Ore. - The San Diego State women's golf team placed fifth at the 2005 Mountain West Conference championships Saturday, recording a 329 in the third and final round to end competition with a 954 (+102). UNLV, which is ranked 25th nationally, retained its conference title and earned the NCAA automatic bid by beating No. 14 New Mexico by two strokes with a 46-over 898 at the par-71, 6,312-yard Meadows Golf Course at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore.
SDSU finished fifth in the team standings for the third time in the league's six-year history. The Aztecs easily beat out Wyoming, which ended up sixth with a 993, while Colorado State was third (907) and Brigham Young (954) was fourth.
Aztec Jamie Oliver (Los Alamitos, Calif.) slipped three slots on the individual leaderboard, but still ended up an impressive seventh overall at 13-over 226. Oliver's seventh-place finish is SDSU's second highest at the MWC event in the last three seasons, while her 54-hole score and finish were both career bests. The sophomore had entered this week's tournament with a 82.50 season stroke average, ranking ranked 35th out of the MWC's 45 golfers.
Oliver recorded the team's best performance of the wet and rainy third round with an 8-over 79. She edged teammate Megan Mulhaupt (Trabuco Canyon, Calif.) by just one stroke, as the senior ended the championships with an 80 to tie for 18th place with a 236.
One of three Aztec freshmen in the line-up, Anna Booth (Coffs Harbour, Australia) was 10-over par Saturday with an 81, despite tallying a team-best three birdies, to place 23rd with a 243. Classmates Jackie Kazarian (Dana Point, Calif.) and MacKenzie Swecker (Winnemucca, Nev.) rounded out the SDSU contingent in 26th (252) and 27th (253) overall.
UNLV's Elena Kurokawa, who held a one stroke lead heading into the final round, ended up winning the individual title by three strokes over Brigham Young's Rachel Newren with a 1-over 214, including a field-best 72 on Saturday.
The 2005 NCAA regional tournament selections will be announced on Mon., April 25. Each of the three regionals will consist of 21 teams and three individuals, not on those teams.
Third round scores with relation to par April 23, at the 2005 MWC championships, played at the par-71, 6,312-yard Meadows Golf Course at the Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore.
Team Scores 1. UNLV 295-298-305-898 (+46) 2. New Mexico 300-294-306-900 (+48) 3. Colorado State 302-298-307-907 (+55) 4. BYU 304-301-320-925 (+73) 5. San Diego State 316-309-329-954 (+102) 6. Wyoming 332-317-344-993 (+141)
Top Three Individuals 1. Elena Kurokawa, UNLV 69-73-72-214 (+1) 2. Rachel Newren, BYU 70-73-75-218 (+5) 3. Kristen Campos, CSU 73-74-73-220 (+7)
San Diego State 7. Jamie Oliver 74-73-79-226 (+13) t18. Megan Mulhaupt 81-75-80-236 (+23) 23. Anna Booth 79-83-81-243 (+30) 26. Jackie Kazarian 82-81-89-252 (+39) t27. MacKenzie Swecker 83-80-90-253 (+40)