Hoping to Be In Seventh Heaven

SELINSGROVE, Pa. – The Susquehanna University golf team heads to Shawnee-on-the-Delaware this weekend to defend the Middle Atlantic Conference Championship that it has owned for each of the last six years.

After a spring season that saw the Crusaders win three tournament and place in the top five in all seven events in which they entered, the team knows what it takes to place an eighth overall MAC title on the resume of 12th-year head coach and Susquehanna Director of Athletics Don Harnum

After sharing the 1992 MAC title with Gettysburg, the Crusaders have brought home the MAC crown every year since 1995 — including a tie with Moravian at the 1997 championships. Harnum has also directed his team to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament in four of the past five years, placing 23rd in last year's tournament..

Action begins on Saturday and concludes on Sunday, with competitors playing 27 holes on both days. The first group of golfers is scheduled for a 7:30 a.m. tee-off on both days.

This spring, Susquehanna won its first three tournaments in which it competed in, including the six-team Susquehanna Tee-Off Tournament on March 23 and the seven-team Dickinson Invitational on March 27. The Crusaders have posted strong finishes in several other meets, including second-place standings in both the 15-team Susquehanna Invitational on April 12 and the 12-team Glenmaura National Collegiate Invitational last weekend.

“I like our chances for another title if we can find a fourth player to step up like we did last week at Glenmaura,” said Harnum. “The key is to keep that 4th score under 82.”

Harnum’s team will be led this weekend by junior Ryan Franks (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon H.S.), who has posted the team's low average in regular season play in each of the last two years. He shot a season-best 74 en route to a third-place finish at the Franklin & Marshall Invitational on April 9, and took medalist honors at the Dickinson Invitational on March 27 with a round of 75

Junior Chris Scagliotti (Allentown, Pa./Emmaus H.S.) has also enjoyed a solid spring with a round average of 78.6. His career-best round of 72 was good enough to earn medalist honors at the Susquehanna Invitational on April 12, while his 77 tied him with Franks for second place at the Blue Jay Classic on April 5.

Despite owning just the fourth-best average on the team at 82.9, senior Hugh Leahy III (Wilmington, Del./Archmere Academy) must certainly be considered a top contender for the MAC championship. After all, he owns two MAC championships (1998 and 2000) and was the runner-up as a sophomore in 1999. Last season, Leahy shot a 234 over 54 holes to regain the championship by three strokes.

Freshman Buddy Yarger (Paxinos, Pa./Northumberland Christian School) has stepped in and posted a solid 79.7 stroke average in nine rounds this season. He has posted five rounds of 80 or less and shot a 77 both at Dickinson and at the Susquehanna Invitational.

Rounding out the Crusader field is sophomore Ryan Reid (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg H.S.). Last season, Reid tied for tenth at the MAC championships while this season he has averaged 83.3 strokes in seven rounds of action.

Should the Crusaders capture yet another MAC title, they could be in line to receive one of 23 team berths to the 2001 NCAA Division III Golf Championships, which will be held May 6-10 at Persimmon Woods Golf Club in St. Louis, Missouri. The NCAA Division III Championship Tournament field will be chosen on Tuesday, May 1.