SUNRISE GOLF: Cougars hit target, claim third straight region title

The number 300 holds a special meaning for Coronado's girls golf team.

"That's our target score," Cougars coach Joe Sawaia said. "If we can shoot 300 or better, I think we're playing to our abilities. To have it happen during regionals, I'm really happy for the girls."

Coronado sophomore Sami Penor shot a 2-over-par 74 to earn medalist honors Monday, and the record-setting Cougars ran away with the Division I Sunrise Region team title.

Coronado finished at 12-over 300 and had six of the top seven finishers at Red Rock Country Club to earn its third consecutive region championship.

The Cougars' score in relation to par is the best in state history at a region tournament since the four-player scoring format was adopted in 2008. The previous record was set in 2011 by Green Valley (+15, 303).

The overall record is held by Faith Lutheran, which shot 2-over 290 during a Division I-A Sunset Region match at Las Vegas Golf Club in 2012.

"Our depth and our balance all year has been our strength, and it kind of showed today," Sawaia said. "I think at one point we didn't have anybody more than 3 over through about 14 holes."

Coronado's Victoria Estrada and Crystle Querol each shot 75, and teammate Gabby DeNunzio carded a 76. Querol's 8-foot birdie putt on No. 18 for a share of the lead lipped out, and Estrada earlier missed a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole.

Green Valley's Katherine Kares shot 79 to finish fifth, followed by Coronado's Ashley Lung (80) and Kylie Keyer (81), who was leading the tournament at even par through 11 holes.

Green Valley finished second at 382 to edge Foothill (404) for the other berth at the state tournament. The top two teams and the top five individuals from nonqualifying teams advance to the Division I tournament Oct. 21 and 22 at Primm Valley Golf Club's Lakes Course.

Penor made two birdies on the front nine and was able to avoid disaster on the final two holes despite two wayward tee shots.

First, Penor got relief from a waste bunker left of the fairway on No. 17 because of ground under repair and scrambled to save par.

"That was definitely a big hole for me," Penor said.

Then on the par-5 finishing hole, Penor hooked her drive well left, and her punch out from the dirt and brush landed in a fairway bunker. But Penor salvaged a two-putt bogey to maintain the outright lead.

"It's a really cool thing to win something like regionals, because it's a big deal and you only get four years of high school," Penor said. "I had to make putts; that was definitely a big thing. And I tried to stay away from the big numbers."