By MARTY JAMES
Coach Bob Freschi calls the Napa Valley College women's golf team the "Fab Five."
The Storm, which opens the 2023 season with the Napa Classic, a five-team nonconference event on Aug. 31 at Napa Golf Course at Kennedy Park, is led by its two returning players – Mya Brooks and Desiree Berdiago. They are both sophomores.
New to the NVC lineup are three freshmen – Jill Obelleiro, Ela Ashley and Ping Yang.
"It's a good group," Freschi said, prior to a practice round for the Storm, on Aug. 17 at Napa Golf Course. "Right now, early on, we're going to rely on Mya and Desiree, because they are returning players and they've been through the circuit before. But I think Jill, going into our season, will play as our No. 1. She's just been playing really solid golf in our summer program.
"Ela was a late addition to our summer program. She's solid as well. And then we have Ping, who will round out the five.
"It's a good nucleus. Our circuit is difficult and they have got to be disciplined and play golf where we can't be throwing strokes away, being in the penalty areas or the vineyards at Chardonnay (Golf Club & Vineyards, in American Canyon), or the water, or whatever. So, that's what we're working on. What we're trying to do is eliminate those double-bogeys and higher as a collective team scoring. I think they're starting to understand that, you're 120 (yards) right to the pin, you don't need to pull that 120 club. You could pull that 100 club and come up short. And that's OK. Because then if you do play your 120 club, you've got bunkers on either side of the green and the pin is kind of guarded by a bunker. You could get yourself into more trouble.
"We're slowly getting used to the Storm system, as I call it."
It's a trusted philosophy that Freschi has built into the program, where the players are introduced to all areas of the game – with their driving off the tees, with their approach shots, with their short game around the greens. Last year's team enjoyed all kinds of success, taking third place in the Big 8 Conference, finishing third at the Northern California Regional Championships at Dragonfly Golf Club in Madera, and concluding the 2022 season by placing fifth in the California Community College Athletic Association state tournament, a two-day, 36-hole event, at Morro Bay Golf Course.
"We have a philosophy and they're slowly getting acclimated to that," said Freschi, who is assisted by David Knox, a PGA Class A golf professional and the Director of Instruction at Napa Golf Course. "At the end of the summer here, Jill really had a good grasp of that philosophy and played some really good golf.
"I'm excited with this team. We're going to have a good time and we're going to play some good golf."
The season also consists of 10 Big 8 Conference tournaments, two dual matches, a tri-match, the state preview tournament, NorCal Regionals and the state championships.
The 2023 CCCAA NorCal Regional Championships are Nov. 5-6 at Yolo Fliers Golf Club, in Woodland.
The CCCAA State Championships are Nov. 12-13 at Hunter Ranch Golf Course, in Paso Robles.
Brooks said it was an amazing experience, stepping in last year as a freshman and helping Napa Valley advance to the postseason.
"I was really happy that I was able to start my freshman year off with such a strong team. It was very exciting. Everybody put in 110 percent last year on that team," said Brooks.
"I really think it gives me a lot of confidence for this upcoming season. And also, we've practiced during the summer and our team dynamics are really great. I think we work well together."
Berdiago gained a lot of experience last year, practicing and playing and competing for NVC.
"The experience of coming in as a freshman with a bunch of amazing athletes to guide us through college, it was really exciting. It was just unbelievable to be able to play with such great players and at such beautiful courses. I'm just super excited for this year now, knowing what to expect," said Berdiago.
"I feel like knowing all that information, having that knowledge from last year, gives you a really big boost of energy. So, overall, it's just more excitement than the nerves, kind of how to mentally prepare yourself."
Last year's team was one of the greatest in NVC Athletics history. Transferring on and continuing to play are Alexis Larsen, who signed a national letter-of-intent with Cal State East Bay (Hayward), and Makayla Kearney, who committed to play for the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash.
As a freshman during the 2021 season, Larsen was named All-Big 8 Conference and All-Northern California. As an individual qualifier, she ended her season by placing 18th at the CCCAA Championships at Cypress Ridge Golf Course in Arroyo Grande.
Last year, as a sophomore, Larsen was second at the North/South Invitational, a two-day tournament, at Morro Bay Golf Course. She was selected to the All-Big 8 Conference team after finishing second in the conference for scoring average. She tied for 12th at the CCCAA Northern California Regional Championships at Dragonfly Golf Club in Madera. She also tied for 12th at the CCCAA State Championships at Morro Bay.
"That was quite a season. That was so much fun. I'm so proud of those ladies," said Freschi. "But that was 2022 and now we've got the 2023 season. We're going to have a good time. We're going to give it our best and see where we stack up with these other Big 8 schools. We'll be respectable. We'll be solid."
The field for the season-opening Napa Classic has Sierra College-Rocklin, Modesto Junior College, San Joaquin Delta College-Stockton, Sacramento City College and the host NVC Storm.
NVC's home course is Chardonnay Golf Club & Vineyards.
"We're just trying to get ourselves together and make sure we're ready to compete by our first match," said Brooks. "I just hope to perform better than I did last year. I think my mental game is getting stronger. So hopefully that will help me in this upcoming season, just mentally tougher."
Brooks wants to help provide leadership for the new players as they acclimate to college golf and the NVC program.
"I hope to kind of lead them and kind of just give an example of what it looks like to play in a college level match. Just leading by example, essentially," she said.
As she looked around and saw her teammates hitting shots and practicing at Chardonnay earlier this month, Berdiago quickly picked up on the commitment everyone has for the game and the time and work that goes into playing in the program.
"At the first practice I saw all types of good shots, all from good work," she said. "Everyone has great technique. We're all different and we all have a unique game. But I think altogether, we're going to pull through with a really good season."
Obelleiro is a Dixon High School graduate and was named as the Golden Empire League's Most Valuable Player last year. She has played in Junior Tour of Northern California events.
Ashley is a Woodland High School graduate. She was named to the All-Golden Empire League team last year.
Yang is from Fairfield.
* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019 after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016, the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.