By MARTY JAMES martyjames.sports@gmail.com
It was a midseason matchup of the Big 8 Conference's top two teams – Napa Valley College in the North Division and Reedley College in the South Division.
It was a dual match between teams that are red-hot in their respective divisions – Napa Valley having won four straight Big 8 North Division tournaments and Reedley having won five consecutive Big 8 South Division tournaments.
It was a matchup of teams that each placed at last year's California Community College Athletic Association State Championships at Sandpiper Golf Club in Goleta (Santa Barbara County) – Reedley finishing second and Napa Valley placing fourth.
It was a matchup of very strong and talented men's golf teams on Wednesday at Silverado Resort.
"It's always fun and a pleasure to play Reedley and compete with them and see where we're at," said Bob Freschi, Napa Valley's head coach.
"This is a great opportunity, again, to see a team we haven't seen in a long time," said Scott Stark, Reedley's head coach. "(Coach Freschi's) a great friend of mine. Really respect what he's done up here. I know they're on a really good streak of four in a row, and they've taken over command of the North Division.
"It's nice to, like Bob said, kind of gauge where we're at. We're kind of about the midway point right now and see where we are and where we want to get to.
"I think it's kind of a preview of what the NorCal Regional Championships will be."
The California Community College Athletic Association Northern California Regionals are May 5-6 at Half Moon Bay Golf Links.
Napa Valley and Reedley started out the match playing the front nine of the Silverado Resort South Course, a par-35 layout. The teams continued the match at the turn by going over to the Silverado Resort North Course and playing the front nine, a par-36 layout.
Playing in windy conditions with temperatures in the low 50s, Reedley won the dual match, 369-377, over Napa Valley.
"Anytime you get to play on this venue, it's a treat for the players. You see where you're at real quick on these greens and see how good we really are," said Freschi. "Glad for both teams to experience this venue."
Silverado is the host of the Procore Championship, a PGA Tour event, Sept. 8-14, on the North Course. The Procore Championship kicks off the 2025 FedExCup Fall, a seven-event schedule that helps finalize PGA Tour eligibility for the 2026 season, the Tour announced in a press release.
"To be able to get out of the (San Joaquin) Valley and come up north and play Silverado, my guys were super excited," said Stark. "I think it's a terrific opportunity for our kids to play it today. So really, really excited to be able to play Napa Valley here."
The teams played from a few temporary tee boxes due to a tee construction project on both courses.
Napa Valley had four players who posted scores in the 70s.
Leading the way was Nick DeBellis, Tyler Momono and Max Taylor, each carding 2-over-par 73's.
Ben Wilhite had a 7-over-par 78.
"It's always a great opportunity to see where both teams stands and for us as individuals," said Wilhite. "The winds picked up and the clouds moved in. It was definitely a little hard to judge some shots coming into the green."
Also, playing for the Storm was Stephen Nefsky with an 80 and Lawrence Pepito with an 82.
"It was a very competitive match, and we hung in there," said Freschi. "We've got to fine tune some things, but this proves that we could play with anybody in the state. We just have to do a little bit better.
"We had four guys in the 70s, and then the fifth and sixth guys were right there, almost breaking 80. They didn't have the best rounds. It's going to take all six of us to play really well at the NorCals and states, to be a NorCal champion and the state champion."
The CCCAA State Championships are May 11-12 at Bayonet Black Horse in Seaside (Monterey County).
"They're a little upset with things, that we didn't get it done," said Freschi. "My message before the match was, 'Hey, worry about our game. You've got to play our game." And so, for the most part, we did a nice job with that."
There is a lot of golf to go for Napa Valley, continuing with next week's Big 8 Conference tournament at Chardonnay Golf Club & Vineyards, on Wednesday, March 26, in American Canyon. It's the NVC program's home course.
Napa Valley will play in the North vs. South State Preview on March 31 at Bayonet Golf Course, in Seaside.
The Storm has Big 8 Conference tournaments to go at The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton, The Ridge Golf Course in Auburn, Oakdale Golf & Country Club, Elkhorn Golf Club in Stockton, and Copper River Country Club in Fresno.
In addition, the Storm will also play in the NorCal Preview on April 7 at The Ocean Course at Half Moon Bay Golf Links.
"I feel like we can all collectively go out and shoot a great score together," said Taylor. "With our (NorCal) regionals and states coming up, if everyone starts coming together at that time, then I think it's going to be really good for us."
Taylor had the shot of the day, holing out a wedge from 35 yards from out of the rough for an eagle-3 on the par-5 ninth hole on the North Course, capping a terrific round of golf. He hit driver, 3-iron and holed out with a chip from the left side.
"I was fortunate enough to chip in on the last hole for eagle, which was really cool. I just was like, 'All right, I'm just going to try and get it close.' It went in. I was pretty fortunate out of the rough with a good lie. It worked out well," said Taylor.
Taylor said he kept his round together and going strong by hitting it well off the tee and hitting greens in regulation.
"I was rolling with my putter really well. I made a couple of good birdies coming in," said Taylor.
Reedley was led by Tommy Evans, the individual match medalist, with a 1-under-par 70.
Also, for Reedley, it was Eliot Vidal (73), Brady Foster (74), Brett Leonard (75), Johan Bjorken (77) and Brecht Hulsman (79).
"Anytime we play a good team like Napa, the leading team in the North Division, and we come 3 ½ hours away to a golf course that none of our kids has ever seen before, and we come away with a victory … very, very proud of our kids. We're not pleased with how we played at times, but I think when you look at the total deal, pretty good effort today," said Stark.
* 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.