April 21, 2002

NEW LONDON, N.C. - The Wake Forest men¡¦s golf team shot a six-under 282 in the final round of the ACC Championships on Sunday to move up to a fourth place finish. Georgia Tech captured the team title, its second straight and third in the four seasons. The three-day, 54-hole tournament took place at the par 72, 7,102-yard Old North State Club at Uwharrie Point.

The Demon Deacons turned in the second lowest round of the day to finish with a 13-under 851 (290-279-282). Wake¡¦s total was its second-lowest tournament score in a three-round ACC Tournament. The Deacs shot a school-record 838 when they won the team title at the 1980 ACC Championships.

Wake finished six strokes back of Clemson, who finished third with a 19-under 845. NC State used a 14-under 274 in the final round to vault into second place and give the Yellow Jackets somewhat of a scare, finishing just four strokes behind the team champions.

North Carolina finished fifth, 11 strokes back of Wake Forest at -2. The final four teams all finished over par, as Florida State, Virginia, Maryland and Duke rounded out the sixth-ninth spots.

Deacon sophomore Bill Haas finished tied for fourth overall with an eight-under 208 (70-69-69). Haas, paired with individual champion Dustin Bray of North Carolina during the final round, pulled to within two strokes of taking over the lead, but Bray shot par on Sunday to hold on to an 11-under 205 for the conference crown.

A pair of Yellow Jackets, Matt Weibring and Nicholas Thompson, tied for second at nine-under, while Haas finished one stroke back, tied with NC State¡¦s Garth Mulroy.

Deacon senior Jay Morgan finished strong, firing a five-under 67 on Sunday to jump from 30th place to 12th place in the final standings. He finished the event with a four-under 212 (74-71-67). Morgan¡¦s 67 was the low round on Sunday, matched only by Mulroy.

Wake¡¦s Chris Yoder also finished under par for the tournament with a one-under 215 (73-69-73). He finished tied for 17th overall while the 215 score was a career-low for the junior.

Deacon junior Brent Wanner also finished among the top-20 on the leaderboard, tying for 20th with an even 216 (73-70-73). Another junior, Chad Wilfong, rounded out the Deacon lineup, placing 39th with a nine-over 225 (76-74-75).

¡§This tournament just shows we have to be ready to go at all times,¡¨ said Wake head coach Jerry Haas. ¡§The first day hurt us, and we were fighting an uphill battle the rest of the way. But we played hard in the next two rounds, and I think it was a good learning experience. This should remind us that when we get to (NCAA) regionals, it doesn¡¦t matter what happened during the rest of the season. It¡¦s those three rounds that count.¡¨

Wake Forest, ranked second nationally, will return to action May 16-18 at the NCAA Regional Championship. The 2002 Regionals take place at three sites across the country ¡V Roswell, Ga., Little Rock, Ark. and Albuquerque, N.M. The Deacs will find out in early May where they will be sent. The top teams from each regional will advance to the 2002 NCAA Championships in Columbus, Ohio. Wake Forest will look to make its third straight and 39th overall NCAA Championship appearance.

2002 ACC Championship
Old North State Club at Uwharrie Point
par 72 * 7,102 yards

4th Wake Forest 290-279-282 851 -13
t4th Bill Haas 70-69-69 208 -8
t11th Jay Morgan 74-71-67 212 -4
t17th Chris Yoder 73-69-73 215 -1
t20th Brent Wanner 73-70-73 216 E
39th Chad Wilfong 76-74-75 225 +9