Gators will try to keep streak going

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Aug. 21, 1998 | 10:53 a.m.

When a team has won 77 consecutive dual matches on the golf course, it can be difficult for a coach to find new methods to motivate his players.

Not so for Green Valley's Del Sagers. His squad is no longer just competing against the best Southern Nevada has to offer. The Gators also are battling against history.

Late last fall, as the Gators prepared to capture their second straight 4A state girls golf title, Sagers knew he needed a way to keep his team sharp.

The national high school record book was just what he was looking for. From 1985-95, Arizona's Xavier College Preparatory did not lose a dual match -- an unmatched string of 120 straight victories.

Now, as Green Valley opens the 1998 season as the clear-cut local favorite, the Gators also will have one eye on the record -- which they would break in 2000 if all goes according to plan.

"Coach told us about it last year," recalled junior Kimberly Kindig, who captured last year's Southern Zone title and placed fourth at state. "It encouraged us to continue practicing because we were dominating at the time."

And while several local teams, including Durango and Silverado, should be improved this fall, the odds of Green Valley's streak (which dates to 1992) ending in 1998 appear slim at best.

Five of the Gators' top six golfers from last season return, including Kindig and senior Ashlei Pendleton, the defending 4A state champion.

Also back are junior Emily De'Ath, who lost the zone title in a playoff with Kindig and placed seventh at state; junior Mary Fernandez (fourth in the zone and state); and senior Jamie Chanin, a team leader on and off the course.

Green Valley did lose Mira Lee, who finished sixth in the zone and eighth in the state. But replacing her scores shouldn't be difficult. Sagers simply will plug in Fernandez's freshman sister Christina, one of the area's top young junior golfers.

"We have a lot of talent, but in fairness to them, they work hard at it," Sagers said. "They've all played since they were young, and they all play in the junior golf program."

With the Fernandez sisters, De'Ath and Kindig, and junior Monica Deonne -- a promising newcomer -- back in the fold next year, the Green Valley dynasty appears to be in good hands.

If the Gators can keep the streak in perspective, there's no reason to think they won't find themselves in the national record books before long.

"We've set a standard for ourselves that we need to keep doing as well as we have," Chanin said. "And our team is strong enough not to buckle under the pressure."