2007-2008 Men's Golf Preview

Mount Union College's men's golf team, the defending Ohio Athletic Conference Champions, are expected to return three of six letterwinners from last year's squad that took 25th overall at the Division III Nationals in May of 2007.

In 2007-08, the Purple Raiders should be led by seniors Nate Mullen (Salem), Jason Nussbaum (Applecreek/Waynedale) and Tony Serra (North Canton/Hoover).

Mullen earned All-Ohio Athletic Conference honors in 2007 by taking second overall (147 strokes) at the conference meet. He also earned Medalist honors (151) at the Baldwin-Wallace Invitational in September of 2006.

'Nate (Mullen) had an outstanding season last year,' noted Raider Head Coach Dan MacDuffie, who enters his fourth year at the helm of the Raider program. 'He hits his irons extremely well and has an excellent short game. He gives himself a chance with his ability to make putts. He raised the bar with his performance last season. We are looking for him to be even better in 2007-08.'

Nussbaum, a three-year letterwinner and the team captain in 2007-08, had the Raiders' best score at Nationals (49th/157) in 2007. He posted a season-best fifth place finish (150) at the Mount Union Invitational in October of '06.

'Jason (Nussbaum) is capable of being our best golfer,' added MacDuffie. 'He has a great demeanor, he drives well, has a good short game and is very creative around the green. He brings a lot of experience to our program and is a good role model for the younger players in our program."

Serra scored in five of seven tournaments in 2006-07 with a season-best finish of 16th (158) at the Hiram Invitational in September of '06.

'We will need Tony (Serra) to step up his game this season,' said MacDuffie. 'He will be a key figure in terms of picking up the slack for those who graduated. He is capable of shooting an extremely low score when he is on his game. We are looking for him to have a very good senior season.'

The Purple Raiders, ranked 25th in the country according to the 2007-08 Golf World/Nike Golf Coaches Division III Poll, are expecting to once again be in the hunt for the Ohio Athletic Conference Championship.

'We realize we will not sneak up on anyone in the OAC this year,' said the coach. "We will be the hunted instead of the hunter. Our players know they have to get better and can't afford to take any weeks off. It will be a real challenge to repeat, but that is our goal - to win the conference title again and earn our way back to Nationals.'

MacDuffie also commented on practicing and playing on the Raiders' home courses - The Alliance Country Club and the Tannenhauf Golf Course.

"We are extremely fortunate to be able to play at the Alliance Country Club and at Tannenhauf. They are two of the area's best courses. Having both a home private and a home public course less than two miles from campus is also a great advantage for our program. The folks there are terrific and our players appreciate how lucky they are to play at these courses."

The Purple Raiders will also make their annual Spring Break Week trip south to Pinehurst, North Carolina in early March.

"Playing during spring break at Pinehurst gives our golfers a chance to brush off the winter rust, practice in good weather, and play at some outstanding courses, such as Pinehurst #2 - where the U.S. Open was held, Pinehurst #4 and #8. It also gives the guys a chance to bond and have some fun in the process. The trip is a valuable learning tool for our program."

Mount Union's OAC Championship in 2007 was the College's second - the first coming in 1953. The trip to Nationals in May of '07 was Mount Union's first trip to Nationals.

Overall, the Raider men's golf program has a strong tradition ' having finished in the OAC's first division (top-5) in 14 of the last 17 years, while producing at least one All-Conference performer 14 times during that time span. Since 1959, Mount Union has produced 28 All-OAC performers, including three OAC Medalist, Porter McKinnon in 1964, Tom Parrine in 1985 and Todd Stodnick in 1991.