Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
NCAA Regional
Deacons Rally, Win In Playoff To Advance To NCAA Championships
5/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 19, 2007
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Wake Forest played its best golf down the stretch, including a gut-wrenching three-team playoff for one of the final two berths to the NCAA Championships, at the NCAA West Regional here Saturday.
The top 10 teams from three regionals across the country advance to the NCAA Championships May 30-June 2 in Williamsburg (Va.). Wake Forest earned its 42nd trip to those championships after making a combined five birdies over the last three holes and shooting 2-under in the playoff.
"In my 10 years as coach, I don't think I've ever been more proud of a team," Wake Forest head coach Jerry Haas said. "All of the guys came through and I couldn't be happier for them."
The 21st-ranked Demon Deacons, paced by a career-best effort from junior Chris McCartin, finished in a three-way tie with East Tennessee State and Oregon State. In the playoff, junior Webb Simpson birdied the first hole, McCartin birdied the second hole and sophomore Dustin Groves and freshman Brendan Gielow earned pars. Wake Forest and East Tennessee State advanced to the NCAA Championships, while Oregon State was eliminated.
Wake Forest shot its second consecutive score of 11-under par 277 Saturday at Arizona State's Karsten Golf Course. BYU and Colorado State threatened but failed to pass the teams in the three-way tie for ninth place, forcing the playoff.
South Carolina broke up a Pac-10 Conference party to win team honors with a combined 44-under score over 54 holes. UCLA (42-under) finished in second and Southern California (-40) and host Arizona State (-40) tied for third. Other teams advancing to the NCAA Championships in Williamsburg (Va.) were Vanderbilt (-38), Arizona (-36), Stanford (-33), New Mexico (-31), Wake Forest (-25) and East Tennessee State (-25).
All five Deacon players shot 73 or better in the near 100-degree heat in Tempe. McCartin, however, stood out Saturday in the 100-degree temperatures in Tempe.
McCartin shot a career-best 6-under 66 Saturday, finishing with a career-low 203 total. At 13-under par for the tournament, McCartin tied for seventh in the individual race. On Saturday, he birdied six holes and did not record a bogey.
McCartin's final round and 54-hole total both impacted the Wake Forest record books. McCartin is just the third player in Wake history to record four consecutive rounds in the 60s. His 54-hole total of 203 tied for the sixth-best effort in Demon Deacon history. Only 10 players in Wake Forest history recorded a better score than McCartin's 6-under par score on Saturday.
As a team, Wake Forest also made an impact in the school record book. The Deacons' 839 total of 54 holes tied for the sixth-best in Deacon history. Wake's 11-under par score, which is reached on both Friday and Saturday, tied for the 11th-best 18-hole score in school history.
"We'll go home tonight and have a good solid week of practice (before the NCAA Championships)," Haas said. "Anything can happen. Last year we made some noise (finishing tied for third) and I am hoping that will carry over this year."
Simpson shot in the red for the third consecutive day on Saturday. His 3-under 69 gave him a 54-hole total of 9-under 207. Gielow, who struggled to a 77 in the first round before shooting a 67 on Friday, shot a 2-under 70 on Saturday to finish 2-under for the tournament.
Groves shot a 73 on Saturday and finished 4-over for the tournament. Senior Sean Moore, playing in his fourth NCAA regional, rallied for a 72 Saturday and finished 7-over for the event.
Arizona State's Benjamin Alvarado shot 67-65-66--198 (18-under) to win medalist honors by three strokes. Three players tied for second place at 15-under.
Wake Forest advances 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.
9th (tie) of 27 / Par 72 / 7,057 Yards
Team Standings
South Carolina 273 269 278 820 -44
UCLA 268 273 281 822 -42
Arizona State 275 275 274 824 -40
Southern California 277 273 274 824 -40
Vanderbilt 283 276 267 826 -38
Arizona 282 275 271 828 -36
Stanford 277 280 274 831 -33
New Mexico 275 282 276 833 -31
x-Wake Forest 285 277 277 839 -25
x-East Tennessee State 278 277 284 839 -25
Oregon State 281 275 283 839 -25
BYU 283 280 278 841 -23
Pepperdine 277 285 279 841 -23
Washington 284 271 287 842 -22
California 280 282 281 843 -21
UNLV 281 281 282 844 -20
Colorado State 284 284 276 844 -20
Augusta State 284 285 278 847 -17
Oregon 292 281 284 857 -7
Nevada 289 286 286 861 -3
Denver 285 290 287 862 -2
UC-Irvine 289 288 286 863 -1
Penn 288 293 284 865 +1
San Diego State 296 289 299 884 +20
Detroit 297 297 293 887 +23
Bucknell 299 299 295 893 +29
Monmouth 302 295 311 908 +44
x-advanced to NCAA Championships after winning 3-team playoff
Top Individuals
Benjamin Alvarado (AS) 67 65 66 198 -18
Kevin Chappell (UCLA) 66 68 67 201 -15
Jamie Lovemark (USC) 69 63 69 201 -15
Jon Curran (Vandy) 71 65 65 201 -15
ChancePiptone (Penn) 67 70 65 202 -14
Daniel Summerhays(BY) 72 67 63 202 -14
Wake Forest Scores
Chris McCartin 68 69 66 203 -13 7th
Webb Simpson 68 70 69 207 -9 23rd
Brendan Gielow 77 67 70 214 -2 71st
Dustin Groves 76 71 73 220 +4 104th
Sean Moore 73 78 72 223 +7 115th
TEAM 285 277 277 839 -25 T-9th
Players Mentioned
