Yu has strength to carry Gaels

Nick Christensen

Thursday, Oct. 16, 2003 | 10:06 a.m.

Justina Yu laughed as she explained the charm necklace she was wearing while leading Bishop Gorman to victory in Wednesday's Sunset Regional at Henderson's Black Mountain Golf Club.

"It means strength," said the energetic Gael senior after finishing her last hole.

In the end, it was Justina Yu's strength that powered her down the back nine and up to the top of the leaderboard. Yu shot a 1-under 71 to win the individual crown as Gorman ran away with the regional. The team shot a 394 on the 18-hole course, a full 46 strokes ahead of second-place Palo Verde.

The day started for Gorman with a near disaster, as Desiree del Rosario, one of Gorman's four feared freshmen, needed ten strokes to move on to the next hole. But coach Kelsey McCall's focus on relieving the pressure worked for his young student, as del Rosario would finish the day shooting an 81.

"She's done outstanding," McCall said. "That would crush most people."

But instead, del Rosario was inspired.

"I got the bad hole out of the way in the beginning of the round," she explained. "Normally I have one bad hole, and I got it out."

Yu wasn't surprised about her teammate's recovery.

"I kept thinking, it's just one hole," Yu said. "I knew she'd probably be fine."

Palo Verde's Katy Barrett was the second-finishing individual, shooting a one-over 73. Shadow Ridge's Amy Phalajivin finished third with a 74, and Durango's Sondia Gogue and Palo Verde freshman Mandi Incorvaia tied for fourth, shooting 76.

Barrett was pleased with how her day went, especially after leading after nine holes.

"It's not a disappointment (to finish second), because I played my best, I thought I couldn't have done better," Barrett said. "I missed a really short putt on the ninth hole, and that kind of ticked me off. I got it to even, but Justina played awesome the rest of the way."

Gorman and Palo Verde both earn berths to next week's 4A state tournament. In addition to Phalajivin and Gogue, Cimarron-Memorial's Kelsey Voit (76) and Mackenzie Mack (77), and Centennial's Bailey Mosier (85) earn individual spots in the tournament.

Fresh in Yu's memory are her struggles last year at the state tournament in Reno, when she shot a 91 and 84 to finish 10th. She hopes to do better at this year's state tournament in Henderson at the Tuscany Golf Club.

"I'm probably going to work on my short game some more, focus on my chipping," Yu said of her preparations for next week.

Despite temperatures above 90 degrees and winds that gusted to near 20 miles per hour, players said the weather conditions didn't affect them.

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