Fifth-place finish for Napa Valley College men's golf at Fresno tournament
Marty James photos
By MARTY JAMES
The Napa Valley College men's golf team finished in fifth place in an eight-team field during a Big 8 Conference neutral event on Monday at Copper River Country Club in Fresno.
All eight teams from the Big 8 Conference, including Reedley College, Fresno City College, San Jose City College and Taft College from the South Division, played in the event.
Jaxen Perryman's 77 led Napa Valley. No one else broke 80 for the Storm, the Big 8 Conference North Division champion.
Napa Valley had a 406-team score.
"It was just one of those tournaments, where every now and then, we go low 80s and not enough guys in the 70s. But a great round by Jaxen Perryman. He's really played well the last week and a half or so," NVC head coach Bob Freschi said.
"It's always tough for us to go four-plus hours to get down there in the morning and to get out and to play. It was really gusty, windy conditions. It was just one of those days where, besides Jaxen, nothing went our way. (Monday) was a long day. It takes time.
"We hung in there. We definitely grinded through, because it wasn't easy for us. I saw some good, positive attitudes and guys that gave their best effort."
Reedley College won the tournament, shooting a 376-team score.
In second place was Fresno City College, with a 391-team score.
Taking third place was Sierra College-Rocklin, with a 395-team score.
Finishing in fourth place was San Joaquin Delta College-Stockton, with a 401-team score.
After Napa Valley, it was Modesto Junior College at 420, San Jose City College at 423, and Taft College at 456.
NVC got an 80 from Matthew Commander, an 81 from Markus Nanpei and an 83 from Nick DeBellis.
Also, for the Storm, it was Brayden Dixon with an 85 and Anthony Guiomar with an 89.
Blake Contente of Reedley College was the individual low medalist with a 70.
Tying for second individually were Eliot Vidal of Reedley and Giuseppe Aliotti of Fresno City College, each with 71s.
Freschi said he talked with the players on the trip home. NVC is now preparing to play in the California Community College Athletic Association-Northern California Regional Championships, May 5 and 6 at Yolo Fliers Club in Woodland. It's an eight-team event, with the top four teams advancing to the CCCAA State Championships in May at Sandpiper Golf Club, in Goleta.
The Storm will play a practice round at Yolo Fliers Club on Wednesday.
"I told them, 'Hey, if this was the NorCals, this is Day 1. What are you going to do the next day? If it happens like this again, then you guys are on the outside looking in, and then it's only individual qualifiers to be going down to the state championships,' " said Freschi.
The NVC team went over its season goals – which they have had since January – on the trip home.
"Now, they have every opportunity to attain our goal for the next step here. We're going to have a good game plan. We've been up there (to Yolo Fliers) a couple of times now. We'll be ready to go when it matters most, come Sunday and Monday," said Freschi.
"It's knowing the course and being able to execute. I think we'll be ready to go. We're going to grind on it the next few days and we'll be excited and ready to go, come Sunday."
The Storm won seven Big 8 Conference North Division tournament titles.
* 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.