May 18, 2007

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Four Wake Forest players shot under par, paced by freshman Brendan Gielow's 5-under 67, and the Demon Deacons jumped from 18th to a tie for 12th after two of three rounds at the NCAA West Regional here Friday.

As a team, the 21st-ranked Demon Deacons shot an 11-under 277 Friday, the ninth-best score of the day at Arizona State University's Karsten Golf Course.

Despite Friday's charge, Wake Forest remains five shots out of the all-important 10th place. The top 10 teams from all three regionals across the country advance to the NCAA Championships May 30-June 2 in Williamsburg, Va.

All 27 teams in the West Regional will play the final 18 holes on Saturday at the par 72, 7,057-yard layout. Temperatures have hovered around 100 degrees in each of the first two rounds.

UCLA, which is 35-under par through 36 holes, and surprising South Carolina, which is 34-under par, are threatening to make it a two-team race for the team title. Southern California and host Arizona State are tied for third place at 26-under par.

The real battle, of course, is to finish in the top 10. Wake Forest, which won NCAA East Regional titles in both 2005 and 2006, may need its best round of the tournament to secure a place in the top 10 and advance to the NCAA Championships for the 42nd time. The Deacons are 14-under par heading into Saturday's final round.

Wake is one of four teams tied for 12th place. Vanderbilt (-17) is alone in 11th place and three teams are tied for eighth place at 19-under.

Gielow, who struggled to a 77 in the opening round, shot 32-35--67 on Friday and is even par for the tournament. Deacon junior Chris McCartin followed his 68 with a 69 and is 7-under and tied for 15th place overall. Junior Webb Simpson shot 2-under 70 Friday and is 6-under and tied for 23rd place. Sophomore Dustin Groves was the fourth Deacon to shoot under par on Friday, firing a consistent 1-under 71. Senior Sean Moore shot a 78 and is 7-under through 36 holes.

While Gielow had Wake Forest's lowest score of the day, juniors McCartin and Simpson provided the most drama. McCartin, who like the rest of his teammates began on the back nine, shot a remarkable 5-under par 30 on holes 1-9. Simpson had a streak of four consecutive birdies and five birdies over six holes, but he was plagued with a double-bogey on the 18th hole.

Arizona State's Benjamin Alvarado and Southern California's Jamie Lovemark are tied for medalist honors, each posting two-day totals of 12-under. Two players are tied for second place at 11-under.

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.              

12th of 27 / Par 72 / 7,057 Yards

Team Standings
UCLA 268 273 541 -35
South Carolina 273 269 542 -34
Arizona State 275 275 550 -26
Southern California 277 273 550 -26
East Tennessee State 278 277 555 -21
Washington 284 271 555 -21
Oregon State 281 275 556 -20
Arizona 282 275 557 -19
New Mexico 275 282 557 -19
Stanford 277 280 557 -19
Vanderbilt 283 276 559 -17
Wake Forest 285 277 562 -14
Pepperdine 277 285 562 -14
California 280 282 562 -14
UNLV 281 281 562 -14
BYU 283 280 563 -13
Colorado State 284 284 568 -8
Augusta State 284 285 569 -7
Oregon 292 281 573 -3
Denver 285 290 575 -1
Nevada 289 286 575 -1
Penn 288 293 581 +5
UC-Irvine 289 288 577 +1
San Diego State 296 289 585 +9
Detroit 297 297 594 +18
Monmouth 302 295 597 +21
Bucknell 299 299 598 +22

Top Individuals
Benjamin Alvarado (AS) 67 65 132 -12
Jamie Lovemark (USC) 69 63 132 -12
Erik Flores (UCLA) 64 69 133 -11
Charlie Beljan (NM) 65 68 133 -11
James Allenby (OSU) 66 68 134 -10
Kevin Chappell (UCLA) 66 68 134 -10

Wake Forest Scores
Chris McCartin  68 69 137 -7 15th
Webb Simpson 68 70 138 -6 23rd
Brendan Gielow 77 67 144 E 78th
Dustin Groves 76 71 147 +3 103rd
Sean Moore 73 78 151 +7 123rd
TEAM 285 277 562 -14 12th