May 17, 2007
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Wake Forest is tied for 18th place after the first of three rounds of the NCAA West Regional, shooting a 3-under par 285 on Thursday.
The 21st-ranked Demon Deacons, who played in 100-degree temperatures Thursday, will need to play catch-up Friday and Saturday. The top 10 teams from each of three regionals across the country will advance to the NCAA Championships May 30-June 2 in Williamsburg, Va.
The second round is scheduled for Friday at Arizona State University's Karsten Golf Course, a par 72, 7,057-yard public course. The third and final round is Saturday.
Wake Forest, shipped to the West Regional for just the second time after winning the East Regional in both 2005 and 2006, is just four shots out of the championship-qualifying spot of 10th place.
The Deacons received solid efforts from their two juniors -- Webb Simpson and Chris McCartin -- who each shot 4-under par 68s on Thursday and are tied for 13th place. Simpson had five birdies and just one bogey in the first round, while McCartin used an eagle 3 on the par 5 fifth hole to spark his round.
Deacon senior Sean Moore, playing in his fourth NCAA regional, birdied the first two holes but was plagued by a double-bogey on the fourth hole. He finished the first round with a 1-over par 73. Sophomore Dustin Groves, penning a blog on the Wake Forest website, shot a 4-over 76, a round that included a 5-over 40 on the front nine and a 1-under 36 on the back nine. Freshman Brendan Gielow also birdied the first two holes but struggled on the back nine with seven bogeys. Gielow finished with a 5-over 77.
Fourth-ranked UCLA raced out to a five-stroke lead after shooting a remarkable 20-under 268 in the opening round. Immediately behind the Bruins is surprising and 36th-ranked South Carolina, alone in second place at 15-under. Arizona State, the host school, and unranked New Mexico are tied for third place at 13-under.
Other teams in the top 10 through one round are Pepperdine (-11), Stanford (-11), Southern California (-11), East Tennessee State (-10), California (-8), and two teams -- Oregon State and UNLV -- are tied for 10th place at 7-under.
UCLA's Erik Flores holds a slim one-shot lead after firing an 8-under 64 on Thursday. New Mexico's Charlie Beljan, at 7-under 65, is one stroke back in second place.
Ten ACC teams received NCAA regional bids. The Deacons were the only ACC team shipped outside the NCAA East Regional, which is being held this week in Alpharetta, Ga.
Wake Forest is hoping to advance to the NCAA Championships for the 42nd time. The Deacons finished tied for third in last year's championship.
NCAA West Regional
May 17-19, 2007
ASU Karsten Golf Course/Tempe, Ariz.
18th of 27 / Par 72 / 7,057 Yards
Team Standings
UCLA 268 -20
South Carolina 273 -15
Arizona State 275 -13
New Mexico 275 -13
Pepperdine 277 -11
Southern California 277 -11
Stanford 277 -11
East Tennessee State 278 -10
California 280 -8
Oregon State 281 -7
UNLV 281 -7
Arizona 282 -6
BYU 283 -5
Vanderbilt 283 -5
Augusta State 284 -4
Colorado State 284 -4
Washington 284 -4
Denver 285 -3
Wake Forest 285 -3
Penn 288 E
Nevada 289 +1
UC-Irvine 289 +1
Oregon 292 +4
San Diego State 296 +8
Detroit 297 +9
Bucknell 299 +11
Monmouth 302 +14
Top Individuals
Erik Flores (UCLA) 64 -8
Charlie Beljan (NM) 65 -7
James Allenby (OSU) 66 -6
Kevin Chappell (UCLA) 66 -6
Michael Jensen (Cal) 66 -6
Carl Smith (Pepp.) 66 -6
Wake Forest Scores
Chris McCartin 68 -4 13th
Webb Simpson 68 -4 13th
Sean Moore 74 +1 88th
Dustin Groves 76 +4 121st
Brendan Gielow 77 +5 128th
TEAM 285 -3 18th
