BYU Athletics: Cougar sports year in reveiw

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ATHENS – AUGUST 21: Shadow image of celebration by the USA team during their men’s indoor Volleyball preliminary match against Australia on August 21, 2004 during the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games at the Peace and Friendship Stadium part of the Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images) /

Winter Sports

Baseball

BYU Baseball entered the season as the media’s pick to win the WCC. Unfortunately, the Cougars’ bats proved less effective, and the pitchers’ arms proved less reliable, and the team could never find a rhythm.

Instead of first, the Cougars finished last in the conference with a 22-28 overall record and an 11-16 conference record.

Softball

The softball team entered the season on the most impressive run of any BYU team – nine straight conference titles.

After a bumpy first half of the season, the Cougars rattled off 10 straight wins and 18 out of 20, clinching their tenth straight championship on the last day of the season.

BYU got a tough draw in the NCAA Tournament, traveling to Eugene, Oregon to play in No. 1 seed Oregon’s regional. They couldn’t advance out of it, finishing the season at 36-22, with a 13-1 conference record.

Golf

Both the men’s and women’s teams enjoyed strong seasons. The men’s team finished third in the conference, and two stellar rounds at the NCAA Regional gave the Cougars a spot in nationals.

BYU battled severe weather in their third round of the NCAA Championships, and that round proved costly as the Cougars ultimately finished 24th in the country.

The women won the WCC Championship for a third straight year, but struggled in the regional and failed to qualify as a team. However, Rose Huang qualified individually, and she earned a Top 25 finish (T-21st) at nationals.

Tennis

Men’s Tennis had a strong regular season, going 18-6 with a 7-2 conference record. However, they fell in the first round of the WCC Tournament to Loyola Marymount, ending a promising season.

The women’s team finished the regular season 13-7 (6-3 in conference play), but also got bounced in the first round of the conference tournament to St. Mary’s.

Track and Field

Throughout the season, the men’s team stayed in the Top 15 nationally. They sent 34 athletes to the NCAA Regionals, and 7 of those qualified for the NCAA Championships. Kevin Nielsen (Decathlon), Connor McMillan (10,000 meters), Matt Owens (3,000 meters), Clayson Shumway (3,000 meters), Rory Linkletter (5,000 meters), and Clayton Young (5,000 meters) all earned All-American honors.

The women’s team sent 27 athletes to regionals, and 8 earned a spot at the NCAA Championships. Two of those eight, Andrea Stapleton-Johnson (High Jump) and Ashton Riner (Javelin) took home All-American awards.

Men’s Volleyball

For the first time in program history, BYU Men’s Volleyball made it to a third straight Final Four appearance. The Cougars went 20-6 in regular-season play (10-2 in conference), and beat UCLA in the MPSF Finals to win the conference title.

They were rematched with the Bruins in the national semifinals, but this time it was at UCLA’s Pauley Pavillion, and the Bruins ended the Cougars’ season in four sets.

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