Sailors swing for the top
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Rich Kelly shot no higher than 40 in each of the first seven matches.
Susan Grieco/Herald
With a starting lineup consisting of three seniors and three sophomores, Oceanside’s golf team is making a push for the Conference V championship and expects to contend for the Nassau County title in the spring.
The Sailors took a 7-0 record into back-to-back matchups with undefeated Garden City this week. “It’s a bit surprising but we brought back most of the team and our younger guys really improved over the summer,” coach Sean Keenan said. “I attribute our success to everyone’s hard work.”
Oceanside, which finished with a 6-4 record a year ago and placed third in the conference, shot its best score in Keenan’s eight years of coaching in a narrow victory over South Side on Sept. 24 at Lido Golf Course. The Sailors lost four of six individual matches but collectively shot 199 to grab the three points allotted for total score to win the match, 5-4. Senior Rich Kelly and sophomore Adam Weber both shot a par-36, and senior Dan Nafis added a 38 to highlight a season sweep of the Cyclones.
“It was an exciting match and we learned a lot from it,” Keenan said. “We only won two points head-to-head, but we still won the match because we had a better day overall by three strokes. Every shot counts, and you can’t worry about what your opponent is doing.”
Kelly holds down the top spot for Oceanside, which plays its home matches at Middle Bay. So far, he’s ahead of pace to reach his goal of a sub-40 stroke average for nine holes. Kelly finished eighth in the county tournament in the spring and came within two strokes of qualifying for states. He’s shot 40 or below in all seven matches. “Rich is a polished player who never gets flustered,” Keenan said. “When his putting is on, he’ll be right around par for a round.”
The strongest part of Nafis’ game is his length off the tee, and he’s consistently landing in the fairway on his first shot. “Dan can drive the ball a mile,” Keenan said.
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