May 18, 2006

ORLANDO, Fla. - Wake Forest is in second place, trailing only defending NCAA champion Georgia, after the opening 18 holes of the NCAA East Regional at the Lake Nona Golf Club here Thursday.

The Demon Deacons, seeded eighth and ranked 16th nationally, are just one stroke behind Georgia with 36 holes remaining on the par 72, 7,179-yard course.  The 27 teams in the East Regional will play 18 holes Friday and conclude with 18 holes Saturday. The top 10 teams advance to the NCAA Championship May 31-June 3 in Sunriver, Ore.

Wake Forest is led by junior Sean Moore, who is tied for third individually after firing a 4-under par 68 today. Moore's round was bolstered by an eagle 3 on the par 5 ninth hole. Sophomore Webb Simpson is tied for sixth place after a 2-under par 70 today.  Simpson birdied three consecutive holes on the back nine.

Georgia (-4), Wake Forest (-3) and UNLV (-1) are the only teams under par after one round.  Rhode Island (even par) is in fourth place, followed by Texas Tech (+1) and UCLA (+4).  Keeping an eye on remaining in the top 10 to advance to the NCAA Championship, Wake Forest is 12 strokes in front of the 10th-place team, Jacksonville.
The field at the 2006 East Regional is stacked with many of the nation's top teams. Ten schools are ranked in the top 25, including No. 1 Georgia, No. 5 UCLA, No. 9 UNLV, No. 11 Georgia State, No. 12 North Carolina, No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 16 Wake Forest, No. 19 Southern Cal, No. 24 Charlotte and No. 25 Coastal Carolina.

Wake Forest, which won the East Regional last year, is looking for its 42nd berth into the NCAA Championship.

North Carolina's Jonathan Jackson (-6) is the individual leader, one stroke in front of Georgia's Brendon Todd. Wake's Moore and Mark Stevens of Rhode Island are tied for third place.

Wake Forest senior Kyle Reifers, playing in the NCAA Tournament for the third time, is tied for 15th place at even par. Senior Doug Manchester is tied for 53rd place after shooting a 3-over 75.  Sophomore Chris McCartin struggled to a 6-over 78 today.

The East Regional is one of three regionals in action this week.

TEAM STANDINGS
Georgia 284 (-4)
Wake Forest 285 (-3)
UNLV 287 (-1)
Rhode Island 288 (E)
Texas Tech 289 (+1)
UCLA 292 (+4)
North Carolina 294 (+6)
Georgia Southern 295 (+7)
Auburn 296 (+8)
Jacksonville 297 (+9)
Southern California 298 (+10)
Western Illinois 298 (+10)
Georgia State 298 (+10)
Charlotte 299 (+11)
Indiana 299 (+11)
Notre Dame 300 (+12)
Coastal Carolina 301 (+13)
Florida State 302 (+14)
South Carolina 304 (+16)
Maryland 305 (+17)
George Washington 307 (+19)
Richmond 309 (+21)
Tennessee 310 (+22)
Liberty 311 (+23)
Wichita State 311 (+23)
Binghamton 312 (+24)
Army 314 (+26)

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
1 Jonathan Jackson, North Carolina 66 (-6)
2 Brendon Todd, Georgia 67 (-5)
3 Sean Moore, Wake Forest 68 (-4)
3 Mark Stevens, Rhode Island 68 (-4)
5 Blake Trimble, UNLV 69 (-3)

WAKE FOREST SCORES
3 Sean Moore 68 (-4)
6 Webb Simpson 70 (-2)
15 Kyle Reifers 72 (E)
53 Doug Manchester 75 (+3)
99 Chris McCartin 78 (+6)