Sasquatch women rarely miss on links

Check out this resume: five Eastern Region championships, four NWAACC titles and five years running as the NWAACC Coach of the Year.

That long list of honors and titles belongs to fifth-year Community Colleges of Spokane women’s golf coach Christie Dalsanders, who brought home her fourth NWAACC title when the Sasquatch finished with a 19-stroke victory over Skagit Valley on Monday.

CCS’s Sadie Green tied for fifth in the 36-hole event at 168 and teammates Kara Winey (170) and Sarah Villalovoz (173) were seventh and eighth.

The first-place finish brought the title back to CCS after the Sasquatch took second place in 2006.

“It’s quite the honor,” Dalsanders said about how it feels to win the coaching honor all five years she has been a part of the CCS program.

An LPGA Class A Teaching Professional, Dalsanders attributes the program’s success to recruiting. While most NWAACC programs have three women on their team, the CCS women have five or six each year.

Since the total score for each team is factored by the team’s top three finishers, Dalsanders said her numbers give the Sasquatch a definite advantage.

“We are fortunate we have depth,” Dalsanders said. “Any one of those five ladies can go out and play well on any given day. All of my sophomores have worked so hard for two years. Last year we got second place and this year they really stepped up and wanted it.

“It really comes down to recruiting and finding girls who want to golf in college. We’ve been fortunate to recruit good young ladies who are willing to work hard and put the effort into it.”

This year’s team was comprised of one freshman – Villalovoz (Mead) – and four sophomores: Ashley Filliol, Green, Daniella Rodriguez (East Valley) and Winey (Post Falls). Green, originally from Omak, Wash., was a State 1A/B champion in 2004 as a junior at Okanogan and was the medalist at the Columbia Basin Invitational last year as a freshman at CCS.

Next year is looking just as hopeful.

“We have signed a number of athletes to play for us next year and things are looking good,” Dalsanders said. “We hope to keep winning.”