Oct. 1, 2001

LARAMIE, Wyo. -

Led by junior Kim Nissen, the Wyoming Cowgirl golf team moved into eighth place on Monday in the first day of the University of Idaho Lady Vandal Fall Invitational. Nissen shot rounds of 78 and 77 on Monday for a 155 total, placing her in a tie for 15th heading into Tuesday's final round. The Cowgirls posted a team score of 649, placing themselves in eighth place in the 16-team field.

Wyoming improved by 19 strokes in the second round Monday afternoon. UW fired a 315 in the afternoon, after shooting a 334 in the morning round. That 19-stroke improvement in the afternoon moved Wyoming from 13th place following the first round to eighth place heading into Tuesday's third and final round.

Walakak Satarak of UC Irvine leads the tournament with rounds of 74 and 73 for a 147 total. Host Idaho leads the team competition with a 596 total through 36 holes.

"The girls really played well on Monday -- particularly Kim (Nissen) and Katherine (Crowley)," said UW head women's golf coach Jill Johnson. "Kim is playing some of the best golf of her college career right now. She fired two consecutive rounds in the 70s today, and is playing very consistent golf. Katherine is playing in her first tournament in a year. She was forced to sit out last year due to injury. In the afternoon round on Monday, she shot a 76, which was the best round for us on the day. It is so good to see her back competing.

"All five girls contributed on Monday. Tara (Ludwig) had an uncharacteristic round of 93 in the opening round, but she came back with a solid 82 in the afternoon to help our team score.

"Improving our score by 15 strokes from the morning to the afternoon should give us a lot of confidence heading into Tuesday's final round. If we can shoot a similar round to the 315 we posted in the second round, we can move up a couple more spots."

Wyoming Individual Results

Kim Nissen        Jr.   Lakewood, Colo.   Tie 15th 78-77=155
Katherine Crowley RSr.  Sugar Land, Texas Tie 37th 87-76=163
Ashley Cariveau   So.   Rapid City, S.D.  T43rd    85-80=165
Alison McGuire    Jr.   Cheyenne, Wyo.    Tie 63rd 84-84=168
Tara Ludwig       Jr.   Portland, Ore.    Tie 78th 93-82=175

First Day Results (Oct. 1, 2001)
1. Idaho                     297  299    596
2. Portland                  305  314    619
3  UC - Irvine               313  310    623
4  San Francisco             312  314    626
5  Northern Arizona          316  311    627
6  Washington State          326  308    634
7  Montana                   320  326    646
8  Wyoming                   334  315    649
9  Idaho State               322  329    651
10 Montana State             323  329    652
   Eastern Washington        323  329    652
12 Boise State               325  329    654
13 Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo  323  333    656
14 UC - Riverside            342  319    661
15 Portland State            338  338    676
16 Gonzaga                   353  346    699