EUGENE, Ore. (AP) —The BYU women's golf team has been allowed to get an early start in the NCAA championships this week because of the Mormon school's longstanding stance against participating in athletic events on Sundays.

BYU will play on Thursday through Saturday at the Eugene County Club in Oregon. The other 23 teams vying to advance to the round of eight will begin play in Eugene on Friday and wrap up Sunday. The top eight teams move on to match play next week.

NCAA spokeswoman Gail Dent said in an email that NCAA bylaws provide for accommodations to be made for schools that have a written policy against competition on a particular day because of religious reasons. Schools must have submitted the policy to the NCAA by September 1st of the school year during which they may seek accommodations.

The team plans to attend church services in Oregon on Sunday.

This is the first time BYU has advanced to the championships since 2007.

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