Queens of the Greens

Steve Cunningham

Thursday, Oct. 16, 1997 | 11:42 a.m.

Listen to Cimarron-Memorial girls' golf coach John Nelson talk about Green Valley and one might think the zone tournament champions' trophy is already engraved and on its way to Henderson.

"The only thing Del (Sagers, Green Valley's coach) is worried about right now is somebody steppin' out of their car and turning their ankle," Nelson said with a laugh. "Absolutely, they're the best team."

Nelson's probably not far off the mark. Green Valley waltzed through its season undefeated and has a bevy of talented players. Kimberly Kindig, Ashlei Pendleton, Emily De'Ath, Mira Lee and Mary Fernandez give the Gators depth that can be matched by no one in the South.

Sagers knows his team is the favorite but insists they are taking nothing for granted.

"I like our chances," Sagers said of his Sunrise Division champs. "No matter how things look on paper, we still have to go out and shoot good rounds. We have a lot of experience, but we still have to shoot the rounds and play to our ability."

Zone competition, which begins today at Black Mountain, features eight teams vying for four spots in next week's state tournament to be held at Canyon Gate. Green Valley will be joined by Cimarron, Durango, Bishop Gorman, Bonanza, Silverado, Basic and Chaparral.

Cimarron, the runner-up to Green Valley at last year's state meet, won its fifth straight Sunset title this fall. Standouts Erin Borcherts and Amber Williams lead the way and Rachel Miranda has been a steady player. The Spartans, however, don't seem to have enough after those three to make a run at the Gators.

"We've accomplished a lot with just two seasoned players," Nelson said. "We only beat Durango by five (shots) at our place. Silverado beat us. Green Valley beat us. We're just trying to get to state."

The individual competition might be the best part of the zone meet. In addition to the Green Valley and Cimarron standouts, several others could be in contention. Bonanza's Jordan Auten, Durango's Laura DeLucia, Tarah Badger of Basic and Jordan Webb of Bishop Gorman figure to be in the hunt.

The top five individuals not part of a team qualifying for state will advance to Canyon Gate.