Winning a preseason, technically non-scored match against Ripon Christian, the Escalon varsity Lady Cougar golfers opened their 2015 campaign with a league match Thursday against Sonora.

First year head coach Kristie Cathcart said the team, which is in a rebuilding year with only two returning players with varsity experience, played well but fell to the more experienced visiting Wildcats.

“It was the best we’ve done, we shot a 176,” Cathcart said.

Sonora took the match by a final of 159-176 and leading the Escalon team was Angelica Fernandez with a 39. Mary Adams shot a 44, Shelby McCune carded a 45 and rounding out the scoring for Escalon was Kristen Gutierrez at 48. The team played well despite not having normal low scorer Madison Kindberg available for the match.

In an earlier contest against Ripon Christian, Escalon was a 182-211 winner.

“It wasn’t really a scoring match, it was non-league, but we won,” Cathcart said.

Kindberg paced the team with a 40 on the par 32 Escalon course, followed by McCune with a 43, Fernandez with a 48 and Ellie Cunningham with a 51.

“All our matches are home the first half of the season,” Cathcart said, noting that work is underway at the Escalon Golf Course and there are some temporary greens in operation now. Later, it will be impossible for the girls to play there while work continues so they will spend the second half of the season on the road.

“There are some temporary greens, they are working on the sand traps,” Cathcart said.

The work going on has forced the girls to work a little harder on their home course, she added, which hopefully will translate into solidifying their skills as they wind their way through the league schedule.

“We’ll get some good experience playing here, then go to the harder courses,” Cathcart said.

This week, the girls are scheduled to host Modesto Christian in a league match on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 3:30 p.m. and then head to Stevinson Ranch for the annual Yellowjacket Invitational on Monday, Sept. 14.