“Match play is so fun because anything can happen,” Banz said.

Banz faced teammate Berlin Long in the Round of 32 and earned a 6-and-4 victory. After winning Nos. 2, 5 and 9 to take a 3-up lead through nine holes, Banz took Nos. 11, 13 and 14 to close out the match.

In the Round of 16, Banz and Utah Tech’s Gabrielle Roznicki traded holes on Nos. 2 and 3. Banz then won four out of the next six holes to take a 2-up lead after the front nine. Wins on Nos. 10, 12 and 13 secured a 5-and-4 victory to finish an undefeated day.

“I’m grateful to have played against two incredible players and people, including Berlin, who is an amazing match-play player, and to have come out on the winning end,” Banz said. “I am excited for tomorrow to continue to give it my best and see what happens.”

Aadyn Long advanced to the Round of 16 after defeating former teammate Sunbin Seo 1 up, but a 2-and-1 loss ended her tournament run.

After a 2-and-1 victory over stroke-play medalist Braylyn Bayer, Ava Schroeder’s tournament run came to an end with a 5-and-3 loss to Grace Summerhays.

Sophomore Nya Palmer won her opening match 2 and 1, with four of her hole victories coming on the front nine, but she fell 4 and 3 in the Round of 16.

Stellar marks

ATLANTA — The BYU women’s basketball team posted the 31st-highest team GPA in the country during the 2025-26 season and was named to the WBCA Academic Honor Roll on Tuesday.

The WBCA Academic Top 25 recognizes collegiate women’s basketball teams across the nation in their respective divisions that carry the highest combined GPAs, including all student-athletes on their rosters for the entire season. To be recognized, a team must maintain a combined GPA of 3.0 or higher and be nominated by its head coach, who must be an active WBCA member. The 2025-26 season marks the 31st year the WBCA has compiled its academic honor rolls.

In his introductory press conference in March 2025, head coach Lee Cummard emphasized that “excellence is the expectation, and that is how we do everything.” That standard has proven to apply as much to classroom performance as it does to success on the court.

During the 2025-26 academic year, BYU registered a cumulative team GPA of 3.639 and a winter semester GPA of 3.73–both representing the program’s highest marks since at least 2017. Individually, six players maintained GPAs above 3.50 across both the fall and winter semesters, while 14 of the roster’s 15 student-athletes currently hold a cumulative GPA of 3.21 or higher.

The Cougars return eight players to the 2026-27 roster. They will be joined by four newcomers as BYU enters its fourth season as a member of the Big 12 Conference.