ALBUQUERQUE — Santa Fe High School's Chanet Fiorina had quite an adventure Monday on the thrill ride that is The University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course.

With buffeting winds gusting toward 40 mph, Fiorina faced quite a test in the opening round of the Class AAAAA State Golf Championships.

"It was really rough because the winds were so fierce," she said. "I was trying to keep it low, which is kind of hard to me because most of my shots have a lot of height to them. So it was pretty challenging."

Fiorina enters today's final round in third place with
a 9-over 81, four strokes behind leader Kelcey Tate of Cibola.

The Demonettes, who
qualified their first team in
25 years, sit in eighth place with a 120-over 408. They are four strokes behind seventh-place Hobbs. Santa Fe's No. 2, Robyn West, carded a 96 to help the effort, while Andrea Grijalva had a 101.

"This is a good experience for them," head coach Leonard Baca said of the Demonettes, who count Fiorina as their only senior. "We're confident (today) is going to be a better day for us. So we're looking forward to not only (today) but next year, as well."

Fiorina's day almost immediately hit rough patch when she squibbed her drive on the 400-yard, par-4 third hole.

"It's been a long time since I've done that," Fiorina said of the grounder that didn't go beyond 50 yards.

She finished the hole with a triple-bogey 7, leaving her chasing Tate, her playing partner and fellow favorite, the rest of the afternoon.

"By the time I caught up with her she was 5-over par," Baca said. "She was just thinking way too much. I could tell that she was pretty tense. She wasn't relaxed. She normally just steps up to the ball and hits it but she was completely out of her whole pre-shot routine."

A little chat from the coach got her calmed down.

"I told her just to play her game out there," Baca said.

The winds began to calm down a bit, as well, and Fiorina started to find the range some, finishing the front nine with three pars and a birdie. That brought her within a stroke of Tate.

She struggled again after the turn with three consecutive bogeys before hitting another strong run of three pars and another birdie.

That left Fiorina two strokes back entering the final two holes. A muffed par putt on 17 coupled with a Tate par dropped Fiorina back another stroke.

On 18, it looked like disaster struck when she tried to reach the 500-yard, par-5 green in two strokes. With a right-to-left breeze still making an impact, Fiorina hooked a hybrid wood deep into the desert while Tate laid up, well-positioned for a birdie attempt.

"I went for it," Fiorina explained. "When
the wind isn't blowing, I can reach the green in two."

Forced to take a penalty stroke and drop ball, she found a wood-chip-carpeted path from which she was able to land an approach just off the green. A chip and a nice putt left her with a bogey, while Tate left her birdie putt low, giving Fiorina a chance at contending for the individual title.

"Four strokes isn't a lot," she said. "I made up four strokes earlier in the day. It's really something I can do."

Santa Fe's Victor Grijalva, playing as an individual, shot an 85.