By MARTY JAMES martyjames.sports@gmail.com
AMERICAN CANYON – It was cold and windy when the Napa Valley College men's golf team arrived at Chardonnay Golf Club & Vineyards for Wednesday's Big 8 Conference North Division tournament.
There were wind gusts during the day, turning the scoring on the par-72, 6,568-yard course into an even greater challenge, from tee to green.
"It was tough," Storm head coach Bob Freschi said of the conditions. "It was blowing. It was gusty, and it affected some guys.
"If we could break 400, we'd be in good shape. We were close. Very close."
The Storm's Nick DeBellis was the individual low medalist, shooting a 3-over-par 75, a round that was highlighted by three birdies. Napa Valley finished in second place with a 402-team score.
"The team that did break 400 won it," said Freschi.
San Joaquin Delta College-Stockton won the tournament with a 398-team score.
It was the seventh tournament of the Big 8 Conference season. Napa Valley had its streak of four straight Big 8 North Division tournament wins snapped.
Napa Valley is in first place in the Big 8 North Division.
"We'll take a second place. We get some points for it," said Freschi. "I just told the team, we're in first place. I told them, our practice on Monday, Tuesday, wasn't the best. They all admitted it, and it kind of carried over to today. They were upset. They are competitors.
"You're going to have a little lull right now in the season. And it happened. It's just one of those days that didn't go so well for a few of our guys."
Sierra College-Rocklin was third with a 416-team score.
Modesto Junior College finished fourth with a 419-team score.
Ben Wilhite fired a 4-over-par 76 for Napa Valley.
The rest of the team posted scores in the 80's. It was Stephen Nefsky with an 82, Max Taylor with an 83, Lawrence Pepito with an 86 and Tyler Momono with an 88.
"I saw some good things and some things that we need to just improve on with the situation of the here and now," said Freschi. "Just the compounding of errors that I saw out here and it ended up costing us.
"But a good effort. We're right there. It's just now onward. We have five more matches in conference play, and we're still in a good spot."
DeBellis went out in 1-under-par 35, with birdies on Nos. 4 and 9. He started out his back nine with a birdie on the 10th hole.
"Nick was striking it well," said Freschi. "He's a very talented player.
"Unfortunately, today, not enough of his teammates followed."
DeBellis birdied the par-5, 517-yard fourth hole, hitting driver, 7-iron, chipping on to 10 feet and making the putt.
He birdied the par-5, 527-yard ninth hole, hitting driver, 8-iron from 190 yards, chipping on to three feet and making the putt.
He also birdied the par-5, 510-yard 10th hole, hitting driver, followed by an 8-iron from 170 yards, chipping out of the right rough to eight feet and then sinking the putt.
DeBellis was stellar with his putting and short game, getting up and down around the green six times on the front side.
"It was playing a little bit tougher today, definitely colder," said DeBellis. "You still have got to go out there. You still have got to hit the shots. I didn't hit many greens on the front. You've just got to stick to your game plan. You've got to have a lot of trust out here with that weather.
"It's definitely not easy. You've got to hit some different shots that you're not used to hitting. You've still got to commit to the uncomfortable, to the uncomfortable feelings.
"The weather got to me on the back nine. I was trying to do too much, trying to save some strokes, and I didn't really stick to my game plan. You've got to get the ball a little lower, play your game."
Wilhite told himself to be smart and to also be patient before the round.
Chardonnay Golf Club & Vineyards is the NVC program's home course.
"Certainly, 76 is definitely a respectable number in these conditions," said Wilhite. "It was definitely a long day. Just played very clean for the first nine (holes) and held in there on the back (nine)."
Wilhite said, based on the weather, it was a 2 to 2 ½ club wind at different times.
"Trying to keep a ball straight in high winds is challenging," he said. "It's just a lot of very patient play. Putting today was more difficult than any approach you had to these greens. They're running slow, so you had to hit them firm, which in this wind, you have to take very aggressive strokes."
Wilhite birdied the par-5, 567-yard seventh hole. He hit 2-iron and a 3-wood lay-up. He hit a 6-iron out of an old divot from 153 yards to four feet and made the putt.
"It was the first one I happened to put close, really tight, and convert," he said.
Wilhite saved par on the ninth hole, making a putt from 12 feet.
Napa Valley will next play in the North vs. South State Preview at Bayonet Golf Course, in Seaside (Monterey County) on March 31.
"I'm excited for our Bayonet trip. That's going to be really fun," said DeBellis.
The California Community College Athletic Association State Championships are May 11-12 at Bayonet Black Horse in Seaside.
"We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but it's a great preview," said Freschi. "We're going to take notes. We're going to dial in. It will be a good preview and see where we're at. We got to fine tune a couple guys' game and make sure they're firing on all cylinders. We'll get it going."
The Storm will also continue its season with Big 8 Conference tournaments 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.
Napa Valley will also play in the NorCal Preview on April 7 at The Ocean Course at Half Moon Bay Golf Links.
"I believe at this point in time, everyone on the team is now trending upwards. It's the perfect time to do it, and to ride that momentum going into NorCals and the states," said Wilhite.
San Joaquin Delta was led by Luke Hyland with a 4-over-par 76 and Jakob Green and Jake Hyland, each with 7-over-par 79's.
Sierra was led by Kyler Ostrom with an 8-over-par 80.
Wyatt Hayes led Modesto with a 7-over-par 79.
* 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.