By MARTY JAMES martyjames.sports@gmail.com

The Napa Valley College men's golf team continued to play very well, winning a dual match over Modesto Junior College on Wednesday at Turlock Golf & Country Club.

The Storm shot a 384-team score. Markus Nanpei led the Storm, shooting a 1-under-par 71.

"Markus played a magnificent round," said Napa Valley coach Bob Freschi. "It was nice to see him go under par. That's what he's been striving to do."

Nanpei had two looks at eagle opportunities, but both putts lipped out. Brayden Dixon also played well, posting an even-par 72.

"What an excellent round by Brayden Dixon," said Freschi.

Next was Lawrence Pepito with a 7-over-par 79.

"Lawrence came back for us. He had a week, to a week-and-a-half tough stretch there, which all golfers go through. So, it was nice to see Lawrence play well," said Freschi.

Also, playing for the Storm was Matthew Commander, with an 80, and Nick DeBellis and Tyler Momono, each posting 82s.

"I really like where we're at right now," said Freschi.

The Storm is off to a solid start, with two first-place and two second-place finishes in Big 8 Conference North division tournaments.

Napa Valley won the fourth tournament of the Big 8 Conference season on Monday at Chardonnay Golf Club & Vineyards, in American Canyon. Last week, the Storm finished in second place in a conference tournament on the North Course at Silverado Resort and Spa.

"We talked about that we can't be throwing away strokes, no matter who you are and what hole you're on. It's an unsettling feeling," said Freschi. "We responded well at Chardonnay and then (Wednesday) as well. So, hopefully we flipped the page a little bit on a couple of things that we've been talking about and it gets us going into the next week."

The Storm returns to Turlock Golf & Country Club on Wednesday, March 13 for the Big 8 Conference's fifth tournament of the season.

* 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.