Playing their way through a hectic first few weeks of the season, the Lady Cougar golf girls are looking for consistency on the course.

They started the season with a scrimmage against Riverbank at the Escalon Golf Course in late August.

“Both schools had all team members play, which was 16 for Escalon and 12 for Riverbank,” said Escalon head coach Chris Casazza.

And even though the scrimmage would not count on the record for either school, Casazza said it also became apparent that they “really couldn’t keep score” because of the tough playing conditions of the course.

“Girls were spending minutes to look for lost balls in the tall grass,” Casazza noted. “The girls were not getting any roll to their shots because of course conditions.”

The greens were also in rough shape, he said.

“Both teams had a great time getting that first round of the season in though,” added Casazza. “For many on both teams, it was their first round of golf ever.”

In discussing the course issues with Riverbank’s head coach, Casazza said he learned that Riverbank – which had used Escalon as its home course in the past – had already made arrangements for Jack Tone Golf in Ripon to be Riverbank’s ‘home’ course this season.

Riverbank and Escalon teams use Escalon Golf Course for practices.

Casazza said he reached out to other coaches in the Trans-Valley League to let them know of the course conditions at Escalon and they advised him to find another course for home matches.

“I made arrangements for us to have our home matches on the top nine holes at River Oaks,” Casazza said of Escalon utilizing the course in Ceres. Hughson currently uses the bottom nine holes there for matches, while Ripon and Ripon Christian use Jack Tone in Ripon.

“It worked out perfectly, and the people at River Oaks have been very easy to work with and welcoming,” Casazza explained. “Their course is in excellent condition. We were very sad to have to hold our home matches away from Escalon Golf Course. It’s such a great course and it will always be our home course.”

Hosting their first ‘home’ match at River Oaks against Hilmar, it was a 143-171 loss for Escalon.

“Hilmar is going to be a great team this year,” said Casazza.

Scoring for Escalon were Elizabeth Allan, 37; Taylor Bruns, 42; Samantha Bruns, 44; Olivia Aceves, 48. Playing but not finishing in the top four were Mia Fernandes, 52; and Areli Herrera, 55.

“Elizabeth Allan had an excellent round,” the coach said of the 37 carded by Allan. “She is our team leader and captain this year.”

Traveling for a match against Ripon Christian at Jack Tone on Sept. 2, it was a close match.

“We took the loss, 191 to Ripon Christian’s 185,” Casazza noted. “Although it was a tough loss for us, the close score let the girls know that they can definitely compete.”

Allan carded the low round of 40 for Escalon, followed by Taylor Bruns, 44; Samantha Bruns, 48; Fernandez, 59.

Playing but not in the top four were Sofia Da Silva, 61; Lori Brown, 62.

The next match was a JV match against Hughson, at River Oaks on Sept. 3. Escalon took the loss but had several first-time competitors doing well.

“It was the first scored round of golf for five of our six girls who played,” Casazza pointed out. “It was exciting to see them go out and compete and put to use the skills they have been learning in practice.”

First time competitors and their scores were: Nadia Graham, 52; Natalie Paxman and Adrianah Armendariz, 53; Kristina Mendoza and Samari Webster, 55. Ariella Partida, who was on the team last year, carded a 55 on the day.

“To take away the pressure for our beginning golfers, we made the max score per hole eight; this allowed them to move on to the next hole without getting bogged down,” Casazza said.

On Monday, Sept. 8, the varsity squad traveled to the Merced High School Girls’ Golf Invitational. It was hosted at Merced Golf and Country Club. Escalon placed 12th out of the 19 schools attending.

“This tournament was five girls per team instead of the usual six,” noted Casazza. “It was also an 18-hole tournament, as opposed to our usual head-to-head matches, which are nine holes.”

Once again, it was Allan leading the team, putting together a 96 on the day. She ultimately placed ninth out of an estimated 90 golfers taking part in the tournament.

“I was very proud of her,” the coach said.

Also scoring for Escalon were Taylor Bruns, 123; Samantha Bruns, 124; Aceves, 129. Fernandes did not count in the top four but carded a 130 on the Merced course.

Keeping up the hectic pace, the girls hosted Hughson at River Oaks on Sept. 9. Escalon got the victory, just edging out Hughson, 165-166.

“After a few tough losses, the girls were determined to turn things around for this match,” Casazza said. “There definitely was a different tone in the van on the drive to the course. Hughson was undefeated up to that point. Our girls were so happy.”

Allan was team leader in the exciting win with a 36, followed by Samantha Bruns, 40; Taylor Bruns, 42; Aceves, 47. Competing but not placing in the top four were Leeah Nelson, 53; and Fernandes, 56.

Two days later, the girls were back at home at River Oaks in Ceres, taking on Ripon in a Sept. 11 contest. The Ripon team took the win, 151-175 over Escalon.

Allan shot a 40, with Samantha Bruns at 41, Taylor Bruns at 45 and Aceves at 49. Not in the top four were Herrera, 51; Fernandes, 58.

“The girls were hoping to replicate the success they had against Hughson earlier in the week, but Ripon had an amazing match,” Casazza said.

The girls are scheduled to be on the road this week, playing at Orestimba on Sept. 17 and at Sonora on Sept. 18.