PROVO — The BYU softball team came out firing last weekend, bursting out to a 5-0 record by sweeping its games in the Red Desert Classic in St. George, Utah.

Sophomore infielder Angeline Quiocho, who hit four home runs during the last day of the tournament, rose up and helped set the tone early for the young Cougar team.

"We had a little talk on Saturday morning about her needing to step up and be the type of leader at plate she was capable of being," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. "All the credit goes to her, but it was one of those times it worked just the way I imagined it."

Saturday was the Cougars biggest test so far this season as they took on Rhode Island and the team favored to win the tournament, Loyola Maramount. The other wins came against Southern Utah, Northern Colorado, and Wisconsin.

"Our team is very young, and it showed them we are for real," Eakin said. "When we are aggressive, we can play with anyone."

The Cougars will face another challenge this weekend in Las Vegas as they take on Northwestern State, Oklahoma, Missouri, San Jose State and Kansas.

TRACK AND FIELD: Women's distance runners Carolyn Quebe and Laura Taylor finished in first and second place of the college heat at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in New York City on last Saturday. Quebe ran a 4-minute, 54.32-second mile, and Taylor ran in the same heat with a time of 4:56.83.

Matt Weirich, Chris Little and Whitney Neves took the four through six spots in the championship heat of the men's pole vault while competing in New York.

Both the men and women's teams will be in action this weekend at the Boise State Invitational.

GYMNASTICS: The gymnastics team lost to No. 2 ranked Utah 193.925-196.700 in the Marriott Center last weekend, but the Cougars remained upbeat as they earned their best score of the season.

Senior Dayna Smart-Allen, currently ranked No. 21 nationally on the vault, got things started for the Cougars by earning her season-best score of 9.875.

The team will travel to Logan on Friday, to take on Utah State and New Hampshire.

WOMEN'S GOLF: BYU graduate Rachel Newren and senior Juli Erekson finished fourth and tied for fifth, respectively, out of 300 that entered, at the 2008 Duramed FUTURES Tour Qualifying Tournament Friday in Florida.