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4/4/2003 - Men's Golf
Midshipmen Play Host to Navy Spring Golf Invitational

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy men's golf team will see its first competition at home this spring Saturday and Sunday, when it plays host to the Navy Spring Invitational. This weekend's action will take place on the par 71 USNA Golf Course in Annapolis with 18 holes set for both days.

The Midshipmen will field two teams - Navy Blue and Navy Gold - in the 23-team tournament, along with Anne Arundel Community College, Charleston Southern, Delaware, Georgetown, George Washington, Iona, Johnson & Wales, Loyola,, Methodist, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Rider, St. Bonaventure, St. Joseph's, Seton Hall, Towson, Villanova and Winthrop, along with Patriot League foes Bucknell, Colgate and Lehigh. Defending National Champions Minnesota, which is not among this year's field, claimed the 2002 Navy Spring Invitational with a 9-stroke advantage over Navy. Meanwhile, Minnesota standouts Simon Nash and David Morgan claimed last year's individual titles.

The Midshipmen are coming off their best team performance of the year, a second-place finish at the Drew Upton Tiger Classic. Navy was just one stroke back from tournament winner Pennsylvania. Three of the Mids' five golfers finished in the top 10, including Patriot League Golfer of the Month Billy Hurley. The junior hailing from Leesburg, Va., has been Navy's top golfer in its four tournaments this spring. He has continued to build momentum, bettering his individual finish each week - 22nd at Moe O'Brien Golf Tournament, 10th at Treasure Coast Classic, fifth at William & Mary Invitational, third at Drew Upton Classic. In last year's Navy Spring Invitational, Hurley had a disastrous start to the tournament, turning in a 15-over par first-round score and was unable to rebound in what turned out to be unspringlike conditions in Annapolis. He turned this around, however, at Navy's fall tournament, as he finished 2nd with a 5-under par 137.

Senior Nick Rogers (Lothian, Md.) was Navy's top performer in last year's spring invitational. A year ago, he paced the Mids with a fifth-place finish on a 10-over par 152. He is heading into this weekend's tournament fresh off his best finish of the season, a sixth-place score at the Drew Upton Tiger Classic.

Fellow senior Brian Crum (Fairfax, Va.) also posted a top-10 finish at last year's spring tournament. This season, Crum has yet to find consistency. He had a strong fall season, that included his first collegiate individual title, a 1-under par 143 at the Rehoboth Beach Invitational. This spring he has produced just one top-10 effort, that being a six-place tie in last week's Drew Upton Tiger Classic.

G-o N-a-v-y