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Notebook...with Brian Gomez
Lady golfers facing true test at Tempe Invitational

By Brian Gomez

Having cruised through the first half of the season relatively unscathed, Corona del Sol High School’s girls golf team will undergo undoubtedly its biggest challenge Sept. 27 in the Tempe Invitational.

The annual event gives the Lady Aztecs an opportunity to measure themselves against teams from across the state, including Central Region powers Marcos de Niza, Desert Vista and Mountain Pointe.

“We’ve got four good teams,” Corona head coach Pat Reed said of the highly-rated region. “Three of us are going to state and one of us is going to stay home.”

Junior Christina Schams has been virtually unstoppable, capturing medalist honors in five straight matches. Earlier this month, she finished tied for second place and sophomore teammate Courtney Belanger finished tied for sixth as the Aztecs (10-0) marked a fifth-place finish in the Prescott Invitational.

Boys golf

Corona’s boys golf team continued its winning ways this past week by firing a 2-over 182 to finish ahead of Phoenix Brophy and Yuma Kofa in a match at Ahwatukee Country Club.

Sophomore medalist Mike Hedstrom paced the Aztecs (7-1) with a 2-under 34, while freshman Nate Schroetter and junior Alex Valer both carded an even-par 36 to finish tied for second place. Junior Nick Schmella’s 1-over 37 was good for fifth place.

“We have a chance to send four people to the state tournament,” said Corona head coach Larry Hughes, whose team will participate in the Tempe Invitational this weekend. “We’ve still got a month left until the region tournament, and we can kind of tell what we need to do. You have to play well at the right time.”

Girls volleyball

Led by junior outside hitter Kellie Phillips, Corona’s girls volleyball team successfully started its defense of the Central Region title.

Phillips recorded eight kills this past week to help lift the No. 9-ranked Aztecs (12-5) to a 25-20, 25-17, 25-10 win over Yuma High. Junior setter Kelli Garrett added 17 assists and junior middle Aubrey Pancratz had five blocks.

Corona will take a break from region play Sept. 30 in a home match against Glendale Mountain Ridge before traveling to Marcos on Oct. 2.

Badminton

Improved footwork and speed will be focal points for Corona’s badminton team Sept. 27 in the Mesa Dobson Invitational, head coach Jennifer Mendes-Ray said.

The Aztecs (4-2) are coming off a 6-3 loss to Mountain Pointe, which claimed four singles points and two doubles points. Juniors Katie Agnew and Carly Glick were the lone Aztecs to win in singles.

“We can get it done with a bunch of different players,” Mendes-Ray said. “We can’t just rely on one or two girls.”

Boys & girls swimming, diving

Two days after cruising to its third straight win in a dual meet against Mesa Skyline, Corona’s boys and girls swimming and diving teams captured fourth place in the Chandler Invitational.

Senior Andrew Howard set meet records in the 50-yard freestyle (21:58) and the 100-yard freestyle (47:84) and sophomore Nate Telep finished first in the 200-yard individual medley (2:00.33) and third in the 100-yard butterfly. Corona’s 200-yard medley relay team took second place and its 200-yard freestyle relay team finished fifth.

On the girls side, sophomore Erin Campbell finished third in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard butterfly, despite being hampered by nagging ear infections. Junior Carly Rollins claimed second place in the 100-yard backstroke and fourth in the 200-yard freestyle, while freshman Samantha Maxwell took second in the 100-yard breaststroke.

“This was their first test to kind of see where they were in terms of tough competition,” said Corona co-head coach Deb Petersen, whose teams host Yuma on Oct. 2 at the West Chandler Aquatic Center. “There’s still some room for improvement before we get to regionals.”

Boys cross country

Sparked by junior Jeff Swindle, Corona’s boys cross country team finished sixth last week in the Chandler Invitational at Tumbleweed Park.

Swindle placed sixth three days after claiming runner-up honors in a meet at Avondale Westview. Other top-50 finishers from Corona included junior Joe Zarzynski, sophomores Mike Wrapp and Brendan McMaster and senior Cody Guy.

“We had a pretty good showing,” said Corona co-head coach Pat Smith, whose team returns to action Oct. 1 at Glendale Mountain Ridge. “It looks like we’re still improving.”

Girls cross country

Running without senior Megan Moore, Corona’s girls cross country team had three top-60 finishers last week at the Four Corners Invitational in Flagstaff.

Junior Wendy Zupac (23:07) paced the Aztecs with a 46th-place finish, while junior Dominique Teas (23:49) finished in 52nd place and freshman Amy Taylor (24:19) took 56th place.

“We were still in the back of the pack,” Corona head coach Celeste Cohorn said. “This is one of those years where you’re a little leaner than you want to be and a little younger than you want to be. You’ve got to work with the people who are willing to come out and run.”

Reach the reporter at brian.gomez@wranglernews.com.

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