DON McDERMOTT / PVT Ashley Keller, a sophomore, will play for the Pahrump Valley High School girls golf team, which will host the Southern Nevada Class 3-A regionals at Mountain Falls Thursday. The first tee-time is 11:15 a.m. The state tournament is Monday and Tuesday at Genoa Lakes Golf Club, near Carson City. Advertisement

Julie Floyd has her fingers crossed, which means only one thing at this time of the year. The Southern Nevada Class 3-A Regional Golf championships are rapidly approaching. In fact, the 18-hole medal play event is Thursday at Mountain Falls, starting at 11:15 a.m.

"You just never know what will happen in the regionals," said Floyd, the coach of the Pahrump Valley High School team that is the defending state champion and Monday confirmed its standing as the No. 1 team in the Southern League. "Thursday .... it's going to be nail-biting time."

Her concern is legitimate, considering what happened in the final regular-season match at Highland Hills in Las Vegas. The Lady Trojans shot a solid 461 on the par 72, 5,400-yard course. But only six strokes back (at 467) was Mesquite Virgin Valley -- not the host team, Faith Lutheran, which faded to a 486. Boulder City had 511, with Overton Moapa Valley at 568.

The regionals begin at 11:15 a.m., with players competing off the women's tees (par 72, 5,422 yards). Entered are the Lady Trojans, along with their league rivals, as well as West Wendover and Ely White Pine. Both are Class 2-A teams, with no place to compete for state honors.

In the combined East-West regionals at Fernley Thursday, entered are Battle Mountain, Fernley, Winnemucca Lowry, Round Mountain, Spring Creek, Wells, Yerington, Dayton, Incline, Mineral County Hawthorne, North Tahoe, Reno Sage Ridge, Sparks, Zephyr Cove Whittell, and Truckee (Calif.).

The top two teams and the top five players, plus ties, qualify for the state tournament from the South. From the East-West regionals, four teams and the top 10 players, plus ties, will earn a trip to the state tournament.

Genoa Lakes' old course will host the state tournament Monday and Tuesday, starting at 11 a.m. the first day. Two years ago, Faith Lutheran won the state championship in a weather-affected tournament shortened from 36 to 27 holes.

Pahrump Valley won the regular-season title with 68 out of a possible 70 points. Faith Lutheran had 62, Virgin Valley 59, Boulder City 49, and Moapa Valley 18.

Candra Sumedhatip of Faith Lutheran claimed the player of the year award in the South, scoring 80 1/2 out of a possible 84 points to edge two-game award winner Desiree Fortin of Pahrump Valley, who finished with 78 points. Monday, both shot 79s, which reflects their season averages. Sumedhatip averaged 78.7 strokes per 18 holes, while Fortin finished at 78.8.

Both were named to the all-league first team, along with Ashley Keller and Courtney Salmon of PVHS; Samantha Bulloch and Brittany Thurston of Virgin Valley, and Kaitlin Main of Faith Lutheran.

On the second team were Ashlee Bartholomew of Pahrump Valley; Amanda Bulloch of Virgin Valley; Nakelle Faught of Virgin Valley; Brooke Prendes of Faith Lutheran; Shawn Haggerty of Faith Lutheran, and Falisha Baeza of Virgin Valley.

"It's a nice advantage, playing on our home course," said Floyd, "but Virgin Valley has come down here three times to practice." In the 2005 state tournament, Virgin Valley was third, trailing runnerup Wells, a Class A team which lost by 14 strokes (447-461) to Pahrump Valley at Boulder City.

In Monday's final regular-season match, Keller (91), Salmon (91), Bartholomew (97), Jasper Biggs (103) and Hailey Forry (107) played for Pahrump Valley.

For Virgin Valley, Thurston had 86, S. Bulloch 86, A. Bulloch 93, Baeza 93, and Faught 109.

Faith Lutheran had Main shoot 104, Haggerty 97, Reba Schneiderman 107 Becca Reighard 99.

Margot Potter had 96 for Boulder City.