A home match against Hilmar went in the loss column, while Escalon’s varsity golf girls then came back to beat Hughson later in the week.

“We won a close match against Hilmar early in the season in our first head-to-head match,” said coach Chris Casazza, noting that Escalon won on the road that time and knew that Hilmar would be looking to return the favor in the Oct. 1 match in Escalon.

“We knew it was going to be a close match, but we also knew we had it in us to pull out a win,” Casazza said. “We talked about our goals before the match, and we decided we needed a team score of around 150 to 160. Unfortunately, we fell short, 167-155.”

Scoring for the team were Genevieve Casazza, 37; Elizabeth Allan, 41; Rose Percey, 44; Taylor Bruns, 45.

Not counting were the scores of Samantha Bruns and Mia Fernandes.

“It wasn’t our best score, but the girls gave it their all,” Casazza said. “Our girls got into a few difficult situations on the course, which accounted for our higher-than-average team score. I was really proud of the way the girls handled those situations, though. It’s really easy to panic and try to force the issue with risky shots, but they stayed the course, took their lumps, and carried on. It was a great example of how the girls have matured as golfers this season.”

Thursday, on another hot day, the girls hosted Hughson in varsity action on the home course.

“We took a tough loss to Hughson early in the season by a handful of strokes at their course,” said Casazza. “Wee had no intention of letting that happen again. This was a win we wanted and needed.”

The coach said his team was also looking to send a message.

“With the loss to Hilmar earlier in the week, the girls wanted to make a strong statement letting everyone know they intended to keep competing and that we belong in the top tier of the TVL,” explained Casazza. “The girls came through with some solid individual scores, and we secured the win, 162-186.”

Allan came in with a 37, Casazza at 41, Taylor Bruns and Samantha Bruns had identical scores of 42. Percey also took the course but did not count in the final score.

“With the win, we kept a strong hold on second place in TVL, and within striking distance is first place Hilmar,” the coach said. “We will look to get the better of Hilmar at the TVL end of season tournament in a few weeks.”

Thursday, Oct. 10 the girls will be at Jack Tone Golf Course for an away match against Ripon Christian. The Lady Cougars are in second place with 22 points in league, just four points behind Hilmar.

The JV girls had a chance to play on Oct. 2, hosting Ripon’s JV team at the Escalon course.

“It was nice to host a JV match at home. Our JV group of girls is definitely more comfortable playing at home than other courses,” said Casazza. “Our JV group played well, but fell short to Ripon JV, 203 236.”

Scoring were Marina Franzia, 53; Sofia DaSilva, 56; Rogue Pultz, 63; Lesley Cardenas, 64. Playing but not counting toward the score were Ariella Partida and Leeah Nelson.