Wake Forest Athletics
Demon Deacons Tie for Sixth, Advance to NCAA Championship
5/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
May 10, 2008
ATHENS, Ga. - The No. 14 Wake Forest women's golf team will return to the NCAA Championship for the third consecutive year after carding an eight-over 296 in the final round of the NCAA East Regional in Athens, Ga.
"The students played very, very well today," Wake Forest head coach Dianne Dailey said. "It was up and down all day and they held it together and made the shots they had to make. We knew we could do it. We just had to think about one shot at a time. Be patient. We never lost faith that we could do it."
The Deacs finished the three-day event tied with South Carolina for sixth place with a 35-over 899. The top eight teams advance to the NCAA Championship in Albuquerque, N.M.
"We're going to keep playing how we've been playing," Dailey said. "We're going to keep our focus. We like Albuquerque, we're looking forward to it."
Wake was led by Natalie Sheary's even-par 72. Sheary, who was named the ACC Freshman of the Year earlier this week, recovered from a disappointing second round to record her second 72 of the tournament.
Sheary finished the regional tied for 20th place and was the top finisher for the Deacs with an eight-over 224 for the three-day event.
For the third straight day, Jean Chua and Laura Crawford recorded identical scores. Luckily for the Deacs, the final round was the pair's best round as each posted a two-over 74.
Chua, a junior, and Crawford, a senior, finished the regional in a tie for 32nd place after posting 11-over 227s.
Nannette Hill posted a four-over 76 Saturday and finished tied for 27th. The junior was the second-best performer for Wake in the tournament with a 10-over 226.
Allie Bodemann carded an eight-over 80 Saturday to finish tied for 68th. The freshman recorded a 19-over 235 for the regional.
The three ACC teams in Athens- Wake Forest, Virginia and Duke- will advance to the NCAA Championship. The Blue Devils (+20, 884) finished second to Florida (+19, 883) by one stroke and the Cavaliers posted a fifth-place finish after firing their best round of the tournament Saturday.
"We were in ninth place most of the day, but we played the last three or four holes extremely well," Dailey said.
Benedicte Toumpsin of South Carolina took individual honors with a two-under 214.
The NCAA Championship will be held at the University of New Mexico, May 20-23.
This marked the first year Wake has been sent to the state of Georgia for an NCAA Regional. Last year, in Baton Rouge, La., the Deacs carded a six-under 858 to finish in third place and qualify for the NCAA Championship.
With the sixth-place finish, the Deacs qualify for their eighth NCAA Championship in the last 11 years.
"It is exciting," Dailey said. "This is a good group and we have a lot to build on. It's nice to make it three in a row."
Players Mentioned
