May 22, 2004

Wake Forest senior Bill Haas won individual medalist honors at the NCAA East Regional, breaking a school record with his 10th career tournament title, but the Demon Deacon team fell one stroke short of qualifying for the NCAA Championship.

Haas shot a final-round even par 70 Saturday to hold off Rhode Island's Kenneth Fahey and Florida's Camilo Villegas by one stroke at the Yale University Golf Course in New Haven, CT. Haas, who was 3-under for the 54-hole tournament, saved par on the 18th hole to secure the victory. Haas, the Ben Hogan Award winner, now holds 10 career tournament victories, breaking a tie with Gary Hallberg for the most wins by a Wake Forest player.

As a team, Wake Forest finished 12th out of 27 teams, one stroke behind both North Carolina and NC State. Only the top 10 teams advance to the June 1-4 NCAA Championship in Hot Springs, Va.

The Deacons shot a 19-over 299 Saturday for a three-day total of 883. North Carolina and NC State came in at 882, then the Tar Heels won a playoff for the 10th and final spot in the NCAA Championship.

Clemson won the East Regional team title by six strokes over Penn State. Other East Regional teams advancing to the NCAA Championship: Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida, Auburn, Georgia State, Rhode Island, Vanderbilt and North Carolina.

Haas will represent Wake Forest as an individual in the NCAA Championship.

Freshman Sean Moore turned in Wake's second-best round of the day Saturday with a 5-over 75. Kyle Reifers, Doug Manchester and Chad Wilcox had identical 7-over 77s. Reifers shot a hole-in-one on the 13th hole Saturday.

Team Standings

Clemson - 277-856 (+16)

Penn State - 287-862 (+22)

Georgia - 284 -864 (+24)

Georgia Tech - 285-864 (+24)

Florida - 290-866 (+26)

Individual Standings

Bill Haas, Wake Forest - 70-207 (-3)

Camilo Villegas, Florida - 70-208 (-2)

Kenneth Fahey, Rhode Island - 69-208 (-2)

Five players tied at 211 (+1)

Wake Forest Individuals

Bill Haas - 70-207 (-3)

Sean Moore - 75-217 (+7)

Kyle Reifers - 77-225 (+15)

Chad Wilcox - 77-236 (+26)

Doug Manchester - 77-236 (+26)