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Nichole Corpus-Massucci watches as her ball flies through the air at the Siena Golf Club driving range on Sept. 10. As a junior at Bishop Gorman, Corpus-Massucci is the highest returning placer in Las Vegas after finishing sixth in the state tournament last year.

By Christopher Drexel (contact)

Tue, Oct 21, 2008 (7:46 p.m.)

Nichole Corpus-Massucci was one shot away from an individual state title.

The Bishop Gorman junior needed to sink about a 17-foot putt on the 18th hole of day two of the 4A state tournament for a birdie and the victory Tuesday. But the putt narrowly missed.

Instead, Corpus-Massucci went into a playoff with Bishop Manogue's Alex Phillips. When the competitors played the first hole over again, Corpus-Massucci shot a par 5. But Phillips tallied a birdie to give her a two-day score of 153 and the win at the 5,619-yard, par-72 Hidden Valley

Country Club.

Though disappointed, Corpus Massucci left Northern Nevada in good spirits. "I was pretty nervous during the playoff hole but I was pumped and ready," Corpus-Massucci said. "I'm disappointed I didn't win, but it gives me a lot of confidence for next year. State will be in Vegas next year, so I will be a lot happier."

Bishop Manogue won the team title, shooting a 687. Douglas came in second (701), followed by Coronado (712), Silverado (722), Gorman (763) and Pahrump Valley (813).

The playoff for the individual title came on the heels of a furious comeback by Corpus-Massucci, who was tied for third place after shooting a 78 on the first day of the tournament Monday. But she opened day two with a 40 on the front nine before shooting a 35 on the back.

Corpus-Massucci said the back nine could be the best nine holes she's ever golfed.

"What she did on the back nine today takes her game to a whole other level," Gorman coach Ben Gutman said. "That killer instinct I saw on the back nine is what I'm looking for from her. She had a great season and an incredible comeback today. If you have that playoff 10 times, they might each win five. But it was the other player's home course."

Nicolette Rivera tallied Gorman's second best score, shooting an 81 the first day and 87 the second. Her two-day score of 168 placed the sophomore

at 12th individually. Freshman Kelly Horrell's 206 put her in 35th place. Junior Katie Wells' 238 was good enough for 42nd. And sophomore Amanda York shot 248 to finish tied for 45th.

"I don't think, as a team, we met our standard that we set all season, so the girls are a little bit disappointed," Gutman said. "But I don't take

anything away from them. We need to learn from this experience, and that's how we're looking at it. We need more consistency from the back of our order. We have some decent players but they're young."

Christopher Drexel can be reached at 990-8929 or christopher.drexel@hbcpub.com.