Sun Athletes of the Week: Roberto Garcia, Erin Mangino and Beverly Thomas

Thursday, Sept. 28, 2000 | 10:50 a.m.

School: Durango

Class: Junior

Sport: Soccer

Last week: Garcia scored three goals to help the Trailblazers to victories over area powers Cimarron-Memorial and Bishop Gorman. On Tuesday, Garcia found the net twice in the second half of a 3-1 win over the Spartans. Two days later, his successful penalty shot in the 75th minute sealed a 3-1 over the Gaels in the two teams' league opener. "He's a very skillful player, probably the most skilled player on the team," Durango coach Barry Forget said. "Without him, we probably wouldn't have beaten Cimarron."

Female Athlete of the Week: ERIN MANGINO and BEVERLY THOMAS

School: Bonanza

Class: Mangino, senior; Thomas, junior

Sport: Tennis

Last week: Mangino and Thomas combined for a pair of doubles victories to spearhead the Bengals' 14-8.5 victory over division rival Bishop Gorman, the Gaels' first conference loss in more than three seasons. The duo's wins, which came by identical 6-1 scores, sparked a 6-3 team effort in the doubles that helped Bonanza claim the match. "Gorman is just awesome, as they are every year," Bengals coach Shawn Seiler said. Mangino and Thomas are 19-4 as the Bengals' No. 1 doubles pair.