Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Seeded 8th In NCAA West Regional
5/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 7, 2007
The Wake Forest men's golf team will begin NCAA postseason play May 17-19 at the NCAA West Regional in Tempe, Ariz. The 21st-ranked Demon Deacons will be the No. 8 seed in the 54-hole event, one of three regional tournaments across the country.
The Deacons will battle 26 other teams at ASU Karsten Golf Course in Tempe for one of 10 berths to the NCAA Championship, scheduled for May 30-June 2 in Williamsburg, Va.
The NCAA Division I Golf Committee, which announced the pairings Monday evening, threw the Deacons a curveball with their assignment to the West Regional. Wake Forest won back-to-back East Regional titles in 2005 and 2006 and will not get an opportunity for the hat trick. Wake had expected to go to the East Regional in Alpharetta, Ga., where nine ACC teams were sent this year. The Deacons were the only ACC team moved outside the East Regional.
Wake Forest's seed was a mild surprise to its head coach, Jerry Haas. The Deacons' assignment to the West Regional was more of a stunner.
"Like last year, we are seeded eighth," said Haas, whose Deacons won the East Regional and finished tied for third last year at the NCAA Championship. "I think we are better than eighth, but we'll have to go out and prove it. As for the West Regional, let's just say it was surprising."
Earlier this spring, Wake Forest participated at the U.S. Collegiate Championships in Alpharetta (Ga.) at the same course that will host the East Regional. Wake Forest's Webb Simpson captured individual honors and the Deacons finished third as a team.
"We will turn this into a positive," Haas said. "(WFU junior) Chad Wilcox has played that course a hundred times, so he'll be out there to give tips."
The ASU Karsten Golf Course, seventh seed Arizona State's home course, will host the West Regional. The public course, a Pete Dye-designed links layout, will likely be close to 7,000 total yards.
Stanford, the nation's No. 2-ranked team, will be the No. 1 seed at the West Regional. UCLA is the No. 2 seed, UNLV No. 3 and Southern California No. 4. The West Regional field includes 10 different teams that won their respective conference championship.
Wake Forest will not be the lone southern team in the West Regional. East Tennessee State is the No. 5 seed, South Carolina the No. 11 seed, Vanderbilt No. 13 and Augusta State No. 14.
The Deacons will take a mixture of veterans and youth to Arizona.
Senior Sean Moore and juniors Webb Simpson and Chris McCartin have combined to participate in NCAA regional play 10 times. Freshman Brendan Gielow and sophomore Dustin Groves will be making their postseason career debuts.
The Deacons are coming off a disappointing 8th-place finish in the ACC Tournament April 20-22 at the Old North State Club.
The NCAA Championship will be conducted May 30-June 2 at the Gold Course at Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg, Va.. Wake Forest has earned an NCAA Championship berth in three of the last four years.
WEST REGIONAL-May 17-19
ASU Karsten Golf Course / Tempe, Ariz.
Hosted by Arizona State
Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Stanford
2. UCLA
3. UNLV
4. Southern California (Pacific-10 Conference)
5. East Tennessee State (Atlantic Sun Conference)
6. Brigham Young (Mountain West Conference)
7. Arizona State
8. Wake Forest
9. Arizona
10. UC Irvine (Big West Conference)
11. South Carolina
12. Washington
13. Vanderbilt
14. Augusta State
15. Pepperdine (West Coast Conference)
16. San Diego State
17. New Mexico
18. Oregon State
19. Colorado State
20. Oregon
21. California
22. Nevada (Western Athletic Conference)
23. Denver
24. Pennsylvania (Ivy Group)
25. Detroit (Horizon League)
26. Bucknell (Patriot League)
27. Monmouth (Northeast Conference)
Individuals:
1. Brian Locke, Loyola Marymount
2. Dustin Pimm, Utah
3. Darrin Hall, San Diego
4. Michael McRae, St. Mary's (California)
5. Geoff Gonzalez, Cal Poly
6. Thomas Petersson, Pacific
Players Mentioned
