SELINSGROVE, PA – The Susquehanna University men’s golf team will open pursuit of its unprecedented ninth consecutive Middle Atlantic Conference championship on Saturday at Shawnee Country Club in the Poconos.

The Crusaders have won eight straight MAC championships, including five consecutive outright titles, and return two of the top four finishers from the rain-shortened 2002 championships, which Susquehanna won by 11 strokes over Widener as the tournament was shortened from 54 to 27 holes.

All five of the Crusaders that 14th-year head coach Don Harnum will send into action at the MAC championships posted scoring averages of below 80 during the 2002-03 season, as Susquehanna posted top-three finishes in eight of the 11 tournaments in which it competed.

Another MAC title could propel the Crusaders into their seventh NCAA Division III tournament in the last nine seasons. The field of 23 teams will be announced on Thursday, May 1, with the championships held at Dornoch Golf Club in Delaware, Ohio from May 12-15.

Sophomore Steve Datt (Mill Hall, PA/Central Mountain H.S.) led Susquehanna regulars with a 77.6 average in 13 rounds this season, including a season-best 71 during the Susquehanna Fall Invitational last September.

Junior John Krumpotich (New Market, MD/Linganore H.S.) returned to the lineup in the spring after studying abroad in the fall and compiled an average of 77.7 in six rounds, including a season-best 74 in the Susquehanna Spring Tee-Off Tournament on March 27.

Sophomore Matt Hubbard (South Windsor, CT/South Windsor H.S.) will look to build upon his performance at last year’s MAC championships, when he finished in second place just two strokes behind individual champion Jeff Flynn of Widener.

This season, Hubbard is averaging 78.8 in 13 rounds, and posted his best round of the season in his most recent action on Tuesday with a 73 on day two of the Glenmaura National Invitational.

Junior Buddy Yarger (Paxinos, PA/Northumberland Christian School) tied for third at last year’s MAC championships and is averaging 79.3 strokes per round in 13 rounds this season. His best round was a 76 at the Moravian Invitational on October 8.

Rounding out the Crusader lineup is senior captain Ryan Reid (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg H.S.), who is averaging 79.8 in 13 rounds this season and has shot 76 on three different occasions during the 2002-03 campaign.

Susquehanna’s strongest competition is expected to come from Moravian, who shared the 1997 team title with the Crusaders and finished just two strokes behind Susquehanna in this week’s 36-hole Glenmaura National Invitational.

Widener’s Flynn will look to defend his individual title, with competition coming from Datt, Krumpotich, Moravian freshman Dustin McCormick and the Elizabethtown duo of Charlie Haines and Bobby Stiffler.

Action tees off on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with 27 holes, and concludes Sunday with 27 more holes. A total of 14 MAC schools will compete in the event.