Deacon Golfers to Compete at VCU
9/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Sept. 30, 2007
The 11th-ranked Wake Forest men's golf team will begin its second tournament of the fall season on Monday, Oct. 1 when the Demon Deacons play in the VCU Shootout presented by the VCU Medical Center. The event is being hosted by the Hermitage Country Club on its challenging Manakin Course.
The Deacons are ranked 11th in the nation in the lastest Golfweek ratings with a 70.03 rating. The Golf World/NIKE Golf Coaches Poll has the Deacs 20th, up three spots from their preseason ranking of 23.
The VCU Shootout has a strong field with 11 of the 15 teams having qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season. Wake Forest will be competing along with fellow ACC members Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Maryland. Other entrants include Wisconsin, Wichita State, Old Dominion, UNC Wilmington, Chattanooga, South Florida, Penn State, Iowa State, Southeastern Louisiana, Liberty and host VCU.
Wake Forest's Webb Simpson will compete in his first collegiate tournament of the fall. He missed the season-opening Carpet Capital Collegiate in Rocky Face, Ga. last month after returning from the Walker Cup. Simpson had an outstanding summer, helping the United States to a victory in the Walker Cup. Simpson is the third-ranked collegiate men's player according to the GolfWorld.com College Preview.
Brendan Gielow led the Deacons at the Carpet Capital with a 10th place finish after firing an even-par 216. Gielow is ranked 17th nationally in the Golfweek rankings as of Sept. 25.
Junior Dustin Groves, ranked 29th in the country by Golfweek, will also be part of Wake Forest's lineup at VCU. Groves tied for 18th at the Carpet Capital with a two-over 218.
Senior Chris McCartin, who tied for 28th at the Carpet Capital, will look to improve on his five-over 221 from the opening tournament.
Sophomore Travis Wadkins won a spot on the Deacons' five-man lineup with a strong performance on Sunday in the College-Am portion of the VCU Shootout. Wadkins shot a 12-over 228 at the Carpet Capital. Freshman Chris Cannon will make his collegiate debut this week, playing as an individual.
"All of our guys played very well on Sunday," said head coach Jerry Haas. "There are a number of really good teams here but the weather is perfect for golf and I expect us to make a lot of birdies over the next few days."
Check out www.golfstat.com for live scoring and www.wakeforestsports.com for daily updates.
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