May 25, 2005

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Demon Deacons Carry Momentum Into NCAA Championships
Wake Forest, fresh off winning the NCAA East Regional championship last week, will join 29 other teams at the NCAA Championships June 1-4 at the Cave Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md.
The 14th-ranked Demon Deacons will take part in the NCAA Championships for the 41st time in school history and for the first time since 2003. Wake Forest eyes its fourth NCAA Championship and its first since 1986.
Wake Forest is coming off its best performance of the year and its first tournament victory since the spring of 2003. The Deacons shot a cumulative 17-under par 835 to finish three strokes in front of Tennessee at the East Regional in Nashville. The victory was Wake's first regional title since regional play began in 1989.
Thirty teams will compete for the NCAA Championship in a four-day, 72-hole format. There will be a cut after 36 holes.

More On Wake's Regional Victory
Wake Forest, perhaps peaking at the right time, played its best team golf in recent history in winning the NCAA East Regional last week. Consider:
- In 15 previous regional appearances, the Deacons had never finished higher than third, in 1997.
- The victory was Wake's first team tournament title of any kind since the spring of 2003.
- WFU's 271 (13-under) score in the first round was the second-lowest single-round total in school history.
- The Deacons' 835 54-hole total was the third-lowest tournament score in school history.
- Sophomore Sean Moore's 54-hole total of 203 tied for the fifth-lowest tournament score in school history.
- Moore, who tied for third place overall, finished higher than 20th for just the second time in 2004-05.
- Moore, who shot 67-68-68 (203), became just the 11th player in Wake Forest history to play an entire tournament shooting in the 60s.
- Junior Kyle Reifers tied a career-low with a 65 in the opening round.

Wake Forest Has Strong NCAA Championship History
- Wake Forest has three NCAA championships to its credit -- 1974, 1975 and 1986.
- Wake has produced the NCAA individual medalist five times -- Arnold Palmer in 1949 and 1950, Curtis Strange in 1974, Jay Haas in 1975 and Gary Hallberg in 1979.
- The Deacons have finished in the top five at the NCAA Championships 15 times, most recently in 2003, a tie for fourth.
- Wake Forest appeared in the NCAA Championship 22 consecutive years from 1967 to 1988.
- WFU is appearing in the NCAA Championship for the 41st time overall.
- A Deacon has finished in the top 25 at the NCAAs 43 times, including 24 top-10 finishes.

Deacons Take Youthful Lineup To NCAA Championships
As it has done all season, Wake Forest will be without a senior when it begins play in the NCAA Championships.
Wake Forest will send two juniors -- Kyle Reifers and Doug Manchester, sophomore Sean Moore and freshmen Webb Simpson and Chris McCartin to Baltimore.
Reifers is the only current Deacon who has NCAA Championship experience. He was on the 2003 Wake Forest team that advanced to the championship.

Simpson Is ACC Freshman Of The Year; Joins Reifers On All-ACC Team
Wake Forest placed two players on the All-ACC Men's Golf Team and a Demon Deacon was named 2005 ACC Freshman of the Year.
WFU's Webb Simpson, who leads the team in stroke average and has three top-10 finishes this season, was named the ACC Freshman of the Year. Simpson is the third Wake Forest player to win the honor, joining Bill Haas in 2001 and Justin Roof in 1994.
Simpson joined junior teammate Kyle Reifers on the All-ACC Team. Reifers, who has finished in the top 20 nine times in 2004-05, was named to the all-league team for the second straight year.
Wake Forest has placed a freshman on the All-ACC Team in each of the last two seasons. Sean Moore was named to the team last spring as a freshman.
Reifers and Simpson are the 59th and 60th Wake Forest golfers since 1975 to earn All-ACC honors.

Wake Forest In The ACC
- Freshman Webb Simpson (72.16) has the fourth-lowest stroke average in the ACC.
- Junior Kyle Reifers (72.49) has the sixth-lowest stroke average in the ACC.
- Reifers has 13 under-par rounds this season. Only four other players in the ACC have more.

Spring Season Has Been A Roller-Coaster Ride For Wake Forest
With such a youthful lineup, it's no surprise that the 2004-05 season has had its share of ups and downs.
Playing a demanding schedule, Wake Forest has earned one first-place finish and two second-place finishes in the spring.
The low point of the season came April 2-3 at the Augusta State Invitational when Wake finished 16th out of 18 teams. That result, however, is misleading as at least three Deacon players were sick that week. Sophomore Sean Moore, in fact, completed just one round.

Wake Owns Lofty National Rankings
Wake Forest is tied for 13th in the latest GCAA Coaches Poll and the Deacons are ranked 14th by Golf Week. Individually, freshman Webb Simpson is ranked 23rd and junior Kyle Reifers 25th.

Simpson 1 Of Nation's Top Freshmen
Wake Forest freshman Webb Simpson, who leads the team in stroke average, has been one of college golf's top freshmen this spring. In 10 collegiate tournaments, Simpson has finished 24th or better in all but one. He has finished under par four times.
Simpson finished third in his first college tournament -- The Ridges. Recently, he took second place at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Collegiate. He also finished tied for fourth place at the Courtyard by Marriott Collegiate.