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Doug Steiner enters his 19th year as the head men's golf coach at Xavier University coming off the team's fourth consecutive NCAA Regional appearance and the fifth NCAA appearance in the last six years. The Musketeers will be in full stride come the fall season, following impressive summers by a number of XU's top golfers. Senior Jason Kokrak will compete in the U.S. Amateur Championship in late August and won the Ohio State Amateur, senior John Streibich competed in the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, and sophomore Josh Hedge won his second straight Montana State Amateur Championship. Steiner became a full-time staff member when he was named Xavier's first Director of Golf prior to the 2001-02 season. "It showed Xavier is committed to quality golf programs to take a big step like that," Steiner said. "Now we must show it was worth it with our performances on the course." The improvement of the Xavier Golf Program was evident in the summer of 2006 when Golf Digest Magazine recognized it as one of the NCAA's best. XU was ranked 19th -- the northernmost school in the top 25 -- in a mathematical ranking that took into account such factors as the team's scoring average, player development, academics, climate, facility and coaching staff. "This is a credit to our current players and the guys that have played here in the past," said Steiner. "We have steadily improved our program year after year and to be recognized in this way is a tribute to our guys' hard work and dedication." Xavier's overall rating of 79.550 ranked it 19th among all men's golf programs in the nation across all divisions. UCLA, Georgia Tech, Pepperdine, Rollins and Florida comprised the top five. XU was ranked higher than national golf powers Texas, UNLV and defending national champion Oklahoma State. In the ranking, the Musketeers were in the top 10 percent in academics, top 20 percent in facility and coaching staff, top 20 percent in team scoring average and top 30 percent in players' development rate. Steiner has the track record of a coach who is ready for such a challenge. In his 18 previous seasons at Xavier, he has led the Musketeers to eight conference titles (four Atlantic 10, four Midwestern Collegiate Conference) while earning Coach of the Year honors seven times (three A-10, four MCC). He's also led the team to five NCAA Tournament appearances in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. The success of three A-10 titles in the last five years is a continuation of what Steiner started with Xavier in the early 1990s in the MCC. He led Xavier to four consecutive MCC championships from 1990-93. The championships were even more impressive when you consider the struggling state of the Musketeer program when Steiner took over in 1988. In his second season at the helm, Xavier finished second in the MCC, its highest finish ever. Steiner, who received his bachelor's degree in business administration in 1983 from Capital University, was a four-time all-conference selection as a member of Capital's varsity golf team. He also made three NCAA Tournament appearances while helping the team win two Ohio Athletic Conference Championships. Steiner, 45, earned his teacher's certification in marketing education from Ohio State. Prior to joining the Xavier staff full-time, he taught sports marketing at Winton Woods High School in Cincinnati. Steiner and his wife Diane live in Hamilton with their three children, Lindsay, who is a freshman on the XU women's golf team, Douglas and Rachel.
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