SELINSGROVE, Pa. – The Susquehanna University men's golf team will begin pursuit of its 11 th consecutive conference team championship on Saturday morning at the two-day Commonwealth Conference meet at the Hershey Country Club.

The tournament was originally scheduled to be held as in past years at the Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort near East Stroudsburg, but the course suffered damage during spring flooding and remains unplayable.

The Crusaders won 10 straight Middle Atlantic Conference team championships through last season, but the meet was divided into Commonwealth and Freedom tournaments this season in anticipation of future automatic bids to the NCAA Division III championships.

Last year, the Crusaders captured the team title by 25 strokes over Moravian as the tournament was shortened from 54 to 45 holes by rain, while Buddy Yarger became the sixth Susquehanna player in the previous seven years to win the individual championship with a two-stroke victory.

This year's lineup may be the youngest that veteran head coach Don Harnum has ever taken to a conference championships, with four freshmen slated to compete along with senior Steve Datt, who won the 2003 MAC championship but finished 13 th last season.

Datt (Lock Haven, PA/Central Mountain) is fourth on the team with an average of 78.5 over 15 rounds this season, including a season-best score of 72 at the Moravian Fall Invitational. He has a career average of 78.2 in 75 rounds with the Crusaders.

Freshman Scott Cruff (Newington, CT/Newington) has been the Crusaders' most consistent player this season with a team-low average of 75.4 in 14 rounds. He won a pair of tournaments during the fall and took third at the Glenmaura National Invitational during the weekend of April 16-17.

Freshman Pat Serfass (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus) is averaging 77.8 in 12 rounds, with a low score of 72 at the Blue Jay Classic on April 6 where he finished third along with a fifth-place finish at Glenmaura National.

Freshman Brock Christine (Selinsgrove, PA/Selinsgrove) moved into the lineup late in the season and is averaging 80.5 in six rounds this season, with a low score of 73 in the second round at Glenmaura National on April 17.

Freshman Nick Paone (Archbald, PA/Valley View) has an average of 79.6 in 10 rounds with a best round of 74 at the Gettysburg Invitational on March 29 where he finished in third place.

Action begins at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday with a 7:30 a.m. shotgun start on Sunday in the seven-school event, as competitors play 27 holes both days to comprise the 54-hole tournament.