Gators one-up Coronado to secure regional crown

Nick Christensen

Thursday, May 13, 2004 | 9:30 a.m.

When Del Sagers returned as Green Valley's boys' golf coach, many thought that Coronado's two-year reign as Sunrise Region champion was about to end.

Those that did turned out to be right -- barely. The Gators edged the Cougars by just five shots, 382-387, to reclaim the Sunrise Region team championship Wednesday at Siena Golf Club in Summerlin. Both teams advance to next week's 4A state golf championship at Aliante Country Club in North Las Vegas.

Green Valley was led by a 2-under performance by Adam Tebbs, who won the individual medal as the only golfer in the field to shoot under par.

"I thought 387 would be enough for sure," Coronado coach Joe Sawaia said. "Our kids didn't lose. They just got beat."

Bonanza, Palo Verde, Galena and Fallon are the other schools that qualified for the state tournament.

"I was very happy with the kids. They worked hard and really put it together today," Sagers said. "Tebbs has been a strong player all year. He's capable of shooting on par every time he steps on a course."

Tebbs, who started the day on the 10th hole, shot a 37 on the back nine but cut down to a 33 on the front stretch. He said he struggled with his putting through the start of the day.

"I just tried to not think about it too much; I just wanted to feel the putt," he said.

The pace of play picked up as the evening went on, and golfers started to get shuttled along the course by marshals. It seemed to frustrate Las Vegas' Brad Thompson, but Tebbs said it worked in his favor.

"I actually like to play fast, so it didn't bother me that much," Tebbs said.

Both Green Valley and Coronado, along with the five individuals who qualified for state, prepare for next week's two-day event. Thompson and Matthew Nolasco of Desert Pines both shot 72, Timothy Macquoid of Silverado and Dustin Borum of Basic fired rounds of 74, and Rudy Dolatre of Las Vegas claimed the final individual berth with a 75.

The good news for all players is that wind is not in the forecast for next week.

"That's the biggest challenge of all, to try and get them to come over two days; even today was a challenge," Sawaia said. "We've got to put in not only 18 holes, but we've got to do it twice. It's doable. We can put together two solid days."

Sagers said he expects a strong challenge, particularly from the Sunset teams that fought the wind earlier this week in their tournament.

"We're going to go out and practice, work hard on our short game," he said. "Us and Coronado are as even as you can get."