So far this season the Escalon golf boys have not only had to battle golf courses and other teams, but this week they had to take on Mother Nature as well.

Unfortunately, the Cougar varsity linksters came up on the losing end, as weather caused three matches this week to be cancelled. All three matches will be rescheduled to other dates. With the rainouts, Escalon’s record remains at 6-0 overall and at 2-0 in Trans-Valley League play.

Escalon, however, did find enough clear weather to compete in the Yellowjacket Invitational Tournament at Diablo Grande Golf Course on Monday, March 12. Playing in cold, overcast conditions, the Purple and Gold golfers were able to put together a solid team score and walk away with a tie for third place.

“When you consider the talent that was in this tournament, third place is outstanding,” Coach Rusty Fachner noted. “The field is primarily larger schools … Division 1 and 2 … and has over 20 teams. This makes the second tournament in a row that we have finished in the top five of a really tough tournament. I stand by my statement that I made earlier about this team. Right now, we may not have someone score really low, but we’re putting together a solid effort as a team.”

The scoring for Escalon had Nolan Rockwell and Nathan Sarkozy both coming in at 84. Steven Gately finished with an 87, while Danny Bava checked in at 89. Nic Lattig completed the day’s scoring with a 92.

“Nolan and Nathan played really good golf and tied for 11th in the tournament. That’s a solid effort against that level of competition,” Fachner commented on how pleased he was with the improvement of his players. “I was also very impressed with the job that Steven did. We called upon him at the last moment to fill in and play. He really answered the call by carding an 87 and finishing 18th overall in the tournament. We don’t tie for third without him stepping up.”

This week the Cougars have two huge TVL match-ups playing Hughson and Hilmar. They are matches that will go a long way toward determining this year’s TVL champion.

“I think if we just keep doing what we have been doing, and that is to improve every time we step on the course, they should have no problem. I have the utmost confidence that my guys will be ready to play,” Fachner concluded