By MARTY JAMES
martyjames.sports@gmail.com
The Napa Valley College women's golf team opens the fall season on Wednesday, Sept. 3 with a dual match against Sacramento City College at Chardonnay Golf Club & Vineyards, in American Canyon, at 12 p.m.
Libby Webb, Hazel Zastrow and Hanna Ruggles, Napa Valley's three returning sophomores, will lead the Storm into the 2025 season. There are seven players on the team.
Webb, Zastrow and Ruggles played on last year's Storm team that advanced all the way to the California Community College Athletic Association State Championships. Napa Valley finished in fourth place in the Big 8 Conference, in fourth place at the Northern California Regionals, and in ninth place at state.
"Those three sophomores are going to lead us. They've been through the circuit before, and they know what to expect," Storm coach Bob Freschi said last week. "They know what to expect with me and the courses. So, now it's just the matter of execution with those three."
Freschi said he's looking also for consistent scoring from the team's three returners, with Napa Valley playing an extensive schedule, including dual matches, Big 8 Conference matches, and tournaments.
"That's all we ask for – and they just do their part in leading this team, having a good time, showing the freshmen that it's OK to make mistakes, and it's how we come back from it and just keep getting better on a daily basis."
New to the team are four freshmen:
Maya Drake, Rylie Olmo, Loret Osorio and Kylee Scroggs.
"It's a pretty group of young ladies. Really excited for the season to kick off," said Freschi, who is in his 10th year of leading the program.
It's a season that will have the Storm playing in 11 Big 8 Conference matches.
Napa Valley will also play in the North vs. South State Preview and the Jan High Memorial Tournament.
There was a summer program, offered two days a week, for the players. Those who were out of town during the summer were given assignments to do in preparation for the season ahead.
"We've been working hard this summer – as we say, grinding on their game as individuals," said Freschi. "Now we're going to put it all together and be a team and just understand our philosophy. It takes a while to get it down, but they got a good introduction this summer on things.
"Small increments of improvement are what we're looking for, having a great attitude and understanding this game is hard, and let's not compound mistakes. We just need to settle down, find a routine, have some rhythm in our lives, and then golf will take care of itself." Napa Valley plays and practices at Chardonnay Golf Club & Vineyards, the program's home course and facility. The Storm's assistant coach is David Knox, a PGA Class A golf professional and the Director of Instruction at Napa Golf Course at Kennedy Park.
"They're very competitive, which I love. We're still getting to know each other. It's a great group of young ladies," said Freschi.
Qualifying rounds during the season will determine the six spots for each of the matches and tournaments for the Storm. Four scores count in the team scoring.
"I think once we get our routine down, and then we have a dual match, and then our first conference match, there's things that I'd like to see the first couple of weeks as a team. And then we just build and hopefully keep improving on things we're highlighting," said Freschi.
"We're going to have to qualify to get into our conference tournaments. It's something they are excited about, but also nervous about."
A point of emphasis early on, the coach said, is working on short-game shots, using wedges for chipping and pitching within 50 yards of the green.
"One thing we need to be better at as a team is getting our wedge game dialed in. We'll be spending a lot of time with our wedge game and just improving that area, keeping stats to see where we're at the first couple of weeks," said Freschi.
Webb, Ruggles and Zastrow each placed at the California Community College Athletic Association State Championships last year, at Monarch Dunes Golf Club in Nipomo (San Luis Obispo County). Webb finished 44th, 90-94 – 184; Ruggles was 51st, 99-96 – 195; and Zastrow tied for 61st, 102-109 – 211.
They also played at the CCCAA-Northern California Regional Championships, at Wildhorse Golf Club in Davis, last year. It was Webb shooting 81-89 – 170, Zastrow shooting 86-95 – 181, and Ruggles shooting 101-89 – 190.
Webb went to North Tahoe High-Tahoe City.
Zastrow went to Spring Creek High, in Spring Creek, Nevada.
Ruggles went to Pioneer High-Woodland.
The freshmen on the NVC team all played high school golf.
Scroggs, who went to Granada High-Livermore, will start the season as the Storm's No. 1 player.
"She is a very solid golfer. She loves the game. She's passionate about it, as she puts in the time. She was right around 80 for a scoring average for the summer," said Freschi.
Osorio went to Woodland High.
"She has gotten herself a lot better this last year, and this summer, she's much improved," said Freschi.
Drake went to Salesian High-El Sobrante.
Olmo also went to Woodland High.
"It's just a matter of her improving around the greens. I think she's going to be a really solid contributor for us," said Freschi.
Jill Obelleiro concluded one of the greatest careers in NVC school history last year. She was the Storm's No. 1 player during her two years in the program and was a two-time All-Big 8 Conference player.
Obelleiro tied for 25th place at the 3C2A State Championships as an individual qualifier as a freshman.
Obelleiro posted rounds of 78 and 81 and tied for ninth place at the state tournament last year.
* 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.