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Sports - High Schools - All Bee Teams section

Coach of the Year: Kari Genco

Published online on Monday, Dec. 24, 2007

By Nick Giannandrea / The Fresno Bee
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School: Buchanan

She's qualified because: Genco helped Buchanan bounce back from two Tri-River Athletic Conference losses against Clovis West by winning the Division I title. Genco's second-seeded Bears beat No. 7 Edison and No. 3 Clovis East to earn a rematch with the No. 1 Golden Eagles. In the final, Buchanan scored five goals in the second period en route to a 7-4 victory to finish the season 27-6.

Defining moment: The Bears came to believe a section title run was possible with their third-place showing at the NorCal Championships in Palo Alto, an invitation-only tournament Sept. 28-29 that featured 16 of the top programs in Northern California. Buchanan earned the top finish by a Central Section school in the tournament with a 4-1 victory over nemesis Clovis West. "That was a time in the season where we all knew we were a good team, our leadership was working and our plays were working," Genco said.

Career highlights: In an amazing three-year run, Genco has lead the Bears to an 80-17-1 record with three Division I championships. The former Clovis West player took over the Buchanan program after it had lost three straight section finals to the Golden Eagles. The Bears' section-title winning victory in 2005 was Buchanan's first, and snapped an eight-year stranglehold Clovis West had on the crown.

The word: "It's hard to win a Valley championship any year. This being our third year in a row really says a lot about our program, our coaching staff and our parents and players. It shows we are committed to water polo and we are willing to work harder than everyone else." -- Genco.

Opposing take: "She's been there three years and they've won three years, so nothing else needs to be said." -- Clovis East coach Iain Patterson.


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