Dec. 24, 2002

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -

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Wake Forest Earns Seattle Bowl Berth
After finishing the regular season with an even 6-6 record (3-5 ACC), the Wake Forest Demon Deacons earned a berth in the 2002 Seattle Bowl, which takes place Monday, Dec. 30 at Seahawks Stadium. WFU will face Oregon (7-5, 3-5) out of the Pac-10 Conference in a 5:30 p.m. (EST) kickoff broadcast nationally on ESPN.

Wake Forest became bowl eligible for the second straight season with a 30-27 win over Navy on Nov. 23. But in the final game of the 2002 regular season slate, the Deacs traveled to Maryland to face a nationally-ranked Terrapin team, falling 32-14 and wrapping up the campaign with a 6-6 ledger.

WFU¡¦s Seattle Bowl foe, Oregon, will present a challenge for the Deacons. The Ducks are making their seventh consecutive bowl appearance in 2002. Oregon opened the 2002 season with six straight victories, reaching as high as No. 6 in the national rankings. The second half of the season did not fare as well, however, as it dropped five of its last six games to finish the regular season with a 7-5 mark (3-5 Pac-10).

Honors Continue To Pile Up For Pace
Wake Forest senior defensive end Calvin Pace, named a first-team All-America by the AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) earlier this month, continues to add to his list of honors. Despite missing his final regular season game with an injury, Pace was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year by The Sporting News, a fourth-team All-America by the same publication, and a third-pick All-America pick by the Associated Press.

Pace is the 14th first team All-American in Wake Forest history and the first since Ben Coleman and George Coghill in 1992.

Wake Forest Among Elite Group In Post-Peason Play
Wake Forest is one of 16 Division I schools with a winning record in both bowl games and the NCAA basketball tournament. Three other ACC schools -- Clemson, Florida State and Georgia Tech -- are also included in this elite group. The ACC and the Big Ten lead all conferences with four teams while the Big East, SEC and Big 12 have two teams each.

Fast Facts
* The Seattle Bowl matchup between Wake Forest of the ACC and Oregon of the Pac-10 will break a tie in bowl games wins between the two conferences. The leagues are even at 5-5-0 record in bowls. The Demon Deacons are responsible for two of those victories with a 1992 Independence Bowl win over Oregon and a 1999 Aloha Bowl victory over Arizona State.

* With seven of its nine schools earning bowl bids in 2002, the ACC sets an NCAA record with 78 percent of the league participating in post-season play. The previous record was 75 percent, set by the SEC in 2000 when nine of its 12 teams went to a bowl game.

* Clemson¡¦s Derrick Hamilton and Wake Forest¡¦s Fabian Davis, who rank 1-2 in the ACC in all-purpose yardage (Hamilton at 137.7 ypg, Davis at 133.4) are the only two players in the country to record 200 yards in rushing, receiving, punt returns and kickoff returns during the regular season.

WakeForestSports.com
Follow the Deacs during Bowl Week on the official athletic site of Wake Forest, www.WakeForestSports.com. News, photos and player diaries will be posted daily through the game on Dec. 30.

Spreading The Christmas Spirit
Just because the Demon Deacons will be in Seattle preparing for a bowl game on Christmas Day, it doesn¡¦t mean they are missing out on the holiday spirit. Check out this feature story on WFU quarterback James MacPherson as Santa Claus in today¡¦s Greensboro News & Record:
http://www.news-record.com/sports/acc/macpherson24.htm