Feb. 5, 2005

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Three Wake Forest golfers scored among the top 13 helping Wake Forest take first place after 36 holes of the SunTrust Gator Invitational.

The sixth-ranked Demon Deacons hold a one-stroke lead (577, +17) over UAB and host Florida with the final 18 holes scheduled for Sunday at the par 70, 6,701-yard layout at the University Golf Club. Wake Forest is three strokes in front of fourth-place South Carolina and six strokes in front of Florida State and LSU.

Wake Forest shot a 6-over 286 in the morning round and entered the second 18 holes in second place. The Deacons fired an 11-over 291 in the afternoon round to take the team lead.

Freshman Chris McCartin shot a 70-71--141 (1-over) to lead the Deacons and tie for third place overall. McCartin is just one stroke behind tournament leaders Heath West of LSU and Brett Stegmaier of Florida.

Junior Kyle Reifers and freshman Webb Simpson both shot 143 (3-over) and are tied for 11th place. Sophomore Sean Moore shot a 10-over 150 and is tied for 42nd. Freshman Dustin Groves shot a 17-over 157 and is tied for 52nd place.

Wake Forest, which finished second in its final tournament of the fall, is looking for its first team title since winning four tournaments in 2002-03.