2021-22 OCC Golf Recap: A Team on the Rise

Toms River, NJ - To say that the 2022 Ocean County College Golf team’s season was a success would be a mild to spicy understatement. Finishing either 2nd or 3rd in all of their tournaments, including 3rd place at the regular season-ending NJCAA Region XIX Championship by just 16 strokes over two days, the OCC Viking golfers represented OCC in fine fashion and served notice to their competition that better days are just ahead.

“I think this year as a whole was very successful and a great learning experience for all of us,” said 1st year graduating golfer Phil Antoniotti. “We enjoyed every minute of it and owe a lot of credit to Coach for all his hard work and sacrifices of time to be with us and help us to play our best.”

Antoniotti, who played at the #2 Club from start to finish, helped to lead the Vikings’ starters, which included outgoing 1st year player Josh Kerley, and 2023 likely-returning players Dane Bodziak, Matt Heberling, Vinny Servis and Eduardo Rojas. Of OCC’s seven golfers (which also included Kean Ocean-bound Joseph Latshaw), only Servis played in high school (Toms River South), with Kerley, Antoniotti, Heberling, Bodziak and Royas having played other sports like hockey, baseball and soccer and only picking up the sport of golf within the last two years.

“We started out with only about 1 or 2 years of golfing knowledge, and with almost no prior tournament experience,” said Ocean County College Head Golf Coach Sean Fawcett. “We played against opponents who were loaded with 3 and 4 year varsity high school starters who’ve been playing golf since at least their early teens. The fact that we were able to place second or third against that level of competition is really a testament to the boys and all their hard work and improvement in the game as the season went along.

“We got better and shot lower and lower scores every week. It all culminated with Josh (Kerley) placing 2nd overall and making First Team All-Garden State Athletic Conference and Matt (Heberling) placing 10th and making 2nd Team All-GSAC, and the guys coming together to almost make 2nd place at the Region XIX Championship.”

The NJCAA Region XIX Championship on May 2nd and 3rd at Union County’s Ash Brook Golf Course in Scotch Plains was where the Vikings truly shined. Kerley kicked off the action by carding the tournament's 2nd best opening round 18, with a then season-low score of 83. Playing a man short with just Kerley, Antoniotti, Bodziak and Heberling contributing, OCC placed with three of the Top 12 individual players (Kerley, Bodziak and Antoniotti, respectively) to finish firmly in 3rd by just 16 shots behind Rowan College South Jersey Gloucester County.

Following the Vikings' seriously strong showing at the Regions, Kerley and Bodziak then kept the pedal to the metal by finishing 42nd and 44th at the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Division III Men’s and Women’s National Golf Championship at Chautauqua Golf Club, near Lake Chautauqua, New York.

Shooting stellar opening rounds of 83 and 82, Kerley, 2nd Team All-Region XIX, led the OCC duo to a very impressive NJCAA National showing with Bodziak, who advanced as the Region’s 1st Alternate, bolstering the Vikings’ raid with season-low first and second rounds of 86 and 83. Kerley’s 82, highlighted by an incredible hole-in-one on Chautauqua’s Lake Course’s 150-yard 8th hole, and Bodziak’s 83, were the duo’s lowest rounds of the entire 2022 campaign.

Kerley’s ace was just the 4th in the Championship’s 22-year history at the challenging and uniquely historic 109 year-old Donald Ross Lake Course design, and was one of the brightest highlights of OCC’s brilliant 2022 campaign.

“The second round was really amazing,” said Ocean County College Head Golf Coach Sean Fawcett. “Josh and Dane both carded their lowest rounds of the season on the very same day and put themselves into position for possible Top 20 and All-American individual placings.”

“All the fellas competed hard with great spirit and terrific sportsmanship and represented OCC and Region XIX extremely well all year. I can’t say how happy I am with the incredible effort and joy that Dane, Phil, Josh, Matt, Eddie, Vinny and Joe played with from Day 1 back in February, all the way through to the end. I feel very blessed to have been their coach. Ocean County College Golf is definitely on the rise.”