PULLMAN, Wash. – The Washington State University women's golf team opened its 2014-15 season with a first-place finish at the WSU Cougar Cup at WSU's Palouse Ridge Golf Club. The Cougars carded a 297 (+9) in gusty conditions on the par-72 course, bringing their three-round total to 867 (+3), 16 strokes head of second-place BYU (+19, 883). WSU junior Nani Yanagi, competing as an individual, garnered the top individual spot. Yanagi carded the lowest score of the third round, shooting 2-under par (70), to earn her first career title.

“Coming out with a win in our first tournament of the season means a lot,” Cougar Head Coach Kelli Kamimura said. “We got off to a shaky start, but we really held on and finished well. The wind was coming from a different direction than we're used to so we weren't as familiar with how to play the course in these conditions.”

In total, six Cougars finished in the top-20, including four team competitors. Senior Kristen Rue finished third on the leaderboard, shooting 3-under par (214) in the tournament. Fellow senior Lindsay Harmon carded an even 216 to finish in sixth place. Junior Rachel Harmon finished one stroke back from Harmon, shooting 1-over par (217) and took seventh place.

Making her collegiate debut, freshman Alivia Brown recorded a top-15 finish, tying for 12th. Brown carded a 223 (+7). Junior Monica Huang (+8, 224), competing as an individual, finished one stroke back from Brown to tie for 16th. Freshman Bree Wanderscheid tied for 26th, shooting 2-over (74) in the final round to bring her three-round score to 229 (+13).

“We have a lot of depth, which is nice, because we haven't had that in the past,” Kamimura said. “We have nine players and we are strong top to bottom. We're looking forward to build off this win.”

The Cougars return to competition Oct. 6-7 at the New Mexico State Invitational in Las Cruces, N.M.