Feb. 26, 2005

Wake Forest, on the heels of a very strong spring season debut, moved up from 14th to sixth this week in the GCAA/Bridgestone Coaches Poll.

The Demon Deacons finished second in a very strong field at the SunTrust Gator Invitational two weeks ago. Wake Forest gets back into action March 11-13 at the Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas, NV.

Thus far Wake Forest has gone with a lineup that includes one junior (Kyle Reifers), one sophomore (Sean Moore) and three freshmen (Webb Simpson, Dustin Groves and Chris McCartin). McCartin was Wake's top performer at the SunTrust Gator Invitational.

Oklahoma State holds the top spot in the poll, followed by Georgia, Georgia Tech, New Mexico and Auburn. Wake Forest leads the second five, followed by Southern California, TCU, Brigham Young and Texas.

Rank University (First-Place Votes) Points Prev.

1 Oklahoma State (18) 711 3

2 Georgia (9) 694 1

3 Georgia Tech (1) 677 2

4 New Mexico (1) 636 4

5 Auburn 535 6

6 Wake Forest 474 14

7 Southern California 471 10

8 TCU 439 9

9 Brigham Young 438 13

10 Texas 419 5

11 Arizona State 412 7

12 Duke 394 12

13 Michigan State 356 18

14 UCLA 350 8

15 Augusta State 319 17

16 UNLV 287 15

17 Clemson 271 16

18 Florida 267 20

19 Kentucky 191 11

20 Kent State 171 23

21 Georgia State 169 21

22 Washington 147 NR

23 Arizona 146 19

24 Minnesota 122 24

25 Tennessee 74 22

Dropped From Rankings: Oklahoma

Others Receiving Votes: South Carolina 50, Texas Tech 45, Pepperdine 21, Memphis 14, Alabama 12, Oklahoma 11, Arkansas 9, North Carolina 9, St. Mary's 9, UC Davis 8, Purdue 8, Kansas 6, Lamar 6, Tulsa 6, Northwestern 5, UCF 5, Oregon State 4, Wichita State 4, Xavier 4, East Tennessee State 3, Indiana 3, Texas A&M 3, Austin Peay State 2, Georgia Southern 2, Rutgers 2, UC Riverside 2, Campbell 1, Rhode Island 1