Coronado girls golfers take third in state

By Christopher Drexel

Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008 | 4:54 p.m.

Coronado's Melanie Chambers didn't golf like a 13-year-old freshman Monday during the first day of the 4A state golf tournament.

She fired a 75 to lead the 49-player field at the 5,619-yard, par-72 Hidden Valley Country Club in Northern Nevada.

But she shot an 82 the following day to finish with a 157 in fifth place, four strokes behind champion Alex Phillips of Reno's Bishop Manogue High.

"I don't think she succumbed to any pressure — it's just golf," Coronado coach Joe Sawaia said. "She put herself in the last group on day two and in a position to win. The next time she's in that situation, it will be easier to manage and she'll have more success in the future."

Coronado was the highest placing team from Southern Nevada as it finished third with a two-day 712 behind champion Bishop Manogue High of Reno at 687 and Douglas High's 701. Silverado was fourth (722), followed by Bishop Gorman (763) and Pahrump Valley (813).

Silverado's Brittany Rizzetto and Tameka Demps were part of a four-way tie for eighth place with a 165.

Demps shot an 80 to put her in a three-way tie for fifth place after the first day. She was 3-under-par on the second day before adding two double bogies and a triple bogie in the middle of the round.

But Silverado coach Kevin Schwallie was happy with Demps' performance. The junior missed a month of the season due to a thumb injury.

"She had a few bad holes early and couldn't recover," Schwallie said. "It happens in golf. But she played well coming back from the injury."

Rizzetto shot an 82 on the first day followed by an 83. Sydney Tidwell finished in 31st place with a 194 for Silverado and teammate Kaitlin Koehne was in 33rd place with a 198. Koehne was 10 strokes better on the last day.

"I'm just proud of our girls because they came out as a team and played better than they did (the first day), so I really can't complain," Schwallie said.

For Coronado, Emily Stevens shot an 83 on the second day to bring her total to 174 and a 17th place finish. Mackenzie Schofield ended up with a 190 and finished at 28th while Simone Hodnett improved seven strokes on the second day for a 191 score and a tie for 29th place. Christina Fredericks also shot 243.

"I'm real pleased with how our girls played," Sawaia said. "But the best two teams in the tournament finished in front of us. You can't play defense in golf. The bottom line is the Northern teams were better and deeper."

Christopher Drexel can be reached at 990-8929 or [email protected].