By MARTY JAMES martyjames.sports@gmail.com

Nick DeBellis is having the time of his life playing on the Napa Valley College men's golf team.

DeBellis, a freshman from El Cerrito, said it's been "super fun" joining the Storm program, getting out for practice rounds, working on his game at the driving range, playing in matches and tournaments, and learning all he can about the game.

"I'll tell you, it's been cool. Just playing golf every day has been so fun for me. Like my one job is golf right now. And that's really cool," DeBellis said after playing in the Big 8 Conference's third tournament of the season, on Wednesday at Silverado Resort and Spa.

"Everyone's been great. It's been really fun to be on this team. I'm glad I'm here."

DeBellis, an El Cerrito High School graduate, said his goal for the day was doing better than he did in a practice round with the Storm on Tuesday on Silverado's North Course.

"Definitely, I improved on (Tuesday)," he said. "That was my goal, is improving from our practice round."

He did just that, posting a 7-over-par 79 on Silverado's North Course, a championship layout that presented a very tough test for the field of four teams and 24 players with long, thick rough and greens that are very challenging with slope and speed.

"Very happy with my score. I think I could have played way better," said DeBellis, who had two birdies on his card. "I left some putts out there for sure."

Said coach Bob Freschi: "He had a nice round. He hits it well. He knows the game well. He has power and finesse to be successful at this level."

Napa Valley, led by Markus Nanpei, its No. 1 player, shooting a 4-over-par 76, finished in second place.

Napa Valley, the host school, shot a 411-team score.

San Joaquin Delta College-Stockton finished in first place, shooting a 409-team score.

Modesto Junior College came in third, with a 421-team score.

Sierra College-Rocklin finished fourth at 431. The Wolverines' Kyler Ostrom was the tournament's low medalist with a 1-over-par 73.

Only four players got into the 70s on the day. It was a spring-like day – sunny and blue skies, with temperatures in the 60s and light winds.

The field played from the blue tees – a par-72, 6,793-yard layout.

"It's a championship-caliber golf course. The rough was thick. It was a challenge," said Freschi. "If you spray the ball a little bit, you're going to be fighting to save par.

"Obviously, we didn't do a good job of that today, with the numbers that were posted. What I just told them, you play to come in first. And it's the ability to understand how to put in a respectable number and get away from the mid-80s, and go low-80s. You can't throw away shots. I felt like we threw away a couple of shots and just going through the motions and rushing our shots when you don't know what the field is doing ahead of you, behind you. And indeed, that's what happened today."

The bright spot for the Storm was the play of DeBellis, the team's No. 3 player, and Nanpei, who was named to the All-Big 8 Conference team and won the individual title at the California Community College Athletic Association Northern California Regional Championship last year. Nanpei signed a national letter-of-intent with Weber State on Nov. 8 and will join the Wildcats golf program in the fall.

Freschi called it "disappointing" to finish in second place. Also, playing for NVC was Matthew Commander, 84; Lawrence Pepito and Jaxen Perryman, each with 86s; and Tyler Momono, with an 89.

"But like I said to the team right now, we don't want to be playing our best golf in February. But starting in March, it's time to start playing better and start believing in our system and our teaching and what we're doing," said Freschi. "You've got to be able to make a change to get better. And so, we're working on things.

"We'll go over the scorecards, and we'll talk and we'll discuss how to get better, so we compete a little bit better than we did today. But like I said, it's a team effort. And we'll get the ship righted. There's a lot of golf left; a lot of matches left. I have faith and believe in this team."

DeBellis birdied the par-4, 378-yard fourth hole. After hitting the fairway with his drive, he hit a lob wedge from 80 yards to one-foot of the pin. He made the birdie putt.

He also birdied the par-5, 539-yard 18th hole. He hit his second shot, a 5-wood from 235 yards, into the greenside rough, long on the left. He chipped from 15 yards out to five feet and made the putt for birdie. "I was on that (18th) tee box. I was like, 'I'm going to make birdie here.' It was pretty confident and I executed every shot I could," said DeBellis.

DeBellis started out the season shooting a 4-over-par 75 and helping the Storm to a second-place finish in the Big 8 Conference's first tournament at Woodbridge Golf and Country Club in San Joaquin County, on Feb. 12.

He had an 82 as Napa Valley won the Big 8 Conference's second tournament, on Monday at Oakdale Golf and Country Club, in Stanislaus County.

"Nick is a joy to be around. He's really confident. That's what I love about him. And he expresses his emotions well, and he strikes the ball well," said Freschi.

Nanpei had three birdies on his card.

He birdied the par-5, 521-yard ninth hole, making a putt from six feet.

He birdied the par-4, 363-yard 12th hole, hitting a 58-degree wedge on his approach shot to three feet. He made the putt.

He hit driver over the fairway bunker on the left side on the par-4, 355-yard 17th hole, leaving himself just 40 yards to the pin. He hit a wedge shot to inside of one foot, setting up a short birdie putt.

"I was worried about going in the bunker. I tried to hit it at the bunker with a cut. And I just dead pulled it," said Nanpei. "I was lucky that it ended it up going that far."

Nanpei said keeping drives on the fairway is key.

"If I was in the fairways more, I definitely would have had a better number," he said. "If you're not in the fairway, you're having a tough time. I was not driving it the best, but the ball was still in play, which was nice.

"The course is in great condition. It was really nice to be out here."

Napa Valley will host the next Big 8 Conference tournament, Monday, March 4 at Chardonnay Golf Club & Vineyards, the Storm's home course, at 11:30 a.m. The Big 8 Conference has 12 tournaments this year.

This year, the conference has two divisions. In the North, it's Napa Valley, Sierra, San Joaquin Delta and Modesto. In the South, it's Reedley, Fresno City, San Jose City and Taft.

"We're only three matches in. And so, there's a long road ahead," said Nanpei. "There's definitely a lot of guys that can go low. It's just a matter of putting it all together at once, and being confident and playing smart. Not being too aggressive, not being too passive. As the season goes on, we'll definitely come together more."

* 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.