Wake Forest Athletics
Demon Deacons Confident Heading Into 20th ACC Championship
4/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
April 17, 2008
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The No. 14 Wake Forest women's golf team will travel to Daytona Beach, Fla. this weekend in search of its fourth conference title in program history at the 20th annual ACC Women's Golf Championship.
This marks the first year the event will be held in Daytona Beach and the third time the state of Florida has hosted the ACC Championship.
The Deacs will send senior Jordan Craig, juniors Jean Chua and Nannette Hill, and freshmen Natalie Sheary and Allie Bodemann to compete against a field that includes six teams ranked in Golfweek's top 40.
"We had a good practice round today. I'm feeling pretty good about this weekend," Wake Forest head coach Dianne Dailey said. "We need some rounds under par. That's very do-able. Every part of the girls' games has gotten better. I know they're confident about playing well and I am too."
Duke will be out to defend its 2007 title and has won the last 12 conference championships, dating back to 1996. The Blue Devils own a league-best 15 ACC Championship victories.
The Blue Devils also return last year's individual champion, Amanda Blumenherst, who has won three individual medals this season.
The Deacs are second in the league with three titles and North Carolina is third with one.
Teams will play the par-72, 6,315-yard LPGA International Legends Course with the first round scheduled for an 8 a.m. tee time on Friday. Wake's group, which includes Florida State and Duke will tee-off at 9:40 a.m. for Friday's first round.
"We can play with anybody," Dailey said. "I think we match-up pretty well against the ACC. Two of our students are very familiar with the course. Things are looking good."
Hill and Chua played in the 2006 Fall Preview and the 2007 NCAA Championship on the Legends Course, which is hosting its first ACC Championship.
Saturday's second round is slated to begin at 8 a.m. and Sunday's final round tee times have been scheduled for 7:30 a.m.
Sheary is the top scorer for Wake entering the tournament as she leads the Deacs in stroke average at 74.3 per 18 holes. Hill is a close second at 74.9, Bodemann is fourth on the squad at 75.8, Craig is sixth at 76.9 and Chua is seventh on the season with 77.8 strokes per 18 holes.
The Deacs finished second in last year's ACC Championship at Carmel Country Club in Charlotte, N.C. Chua and Hill are the only returning golfers for Wake in this year's event. Chua finished 14th one year ago as she posted a 78-72-76 to finish fourteen strokes over par. Hill tied for 24th in Charlotte as she finished 21 strokes over par.
Live scoring and course statistics will be available at Golfstat.com.
Sunny skies and a high of 78 degrees has been projected for Daytona Beach for Saturday's first round by Weather.com.
Players Mentioned
