Deacons Look To Finish Strong At BOT Intercollegiate
10/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Oct. 14, 2009
WISNTON-SALEM, NC - The Wake Forest men's golf team will look to finish the fall portion of its season with a strong showing at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate this weekend at the Ridges in Johnson City, Tenn.
The Deacons played in the final group at the BOT last year and wound up finishing third. Head coach Jerry Haas will send the same lineup into action this weekend that also finished third at the VCU Shootout a little over two weeks ago.
Senior Brendan Gielow leads the way with a 71.7 stroke average over six rounds this season. He will be joined by fellow senior Travis Wadkins, sophomores Daniel Meggs and Lee Bedford and freshman Evan Beck. Fellow freshman Charlie Harrison will be playing in his second-straight tournament as an individual.
"I think our guys are ready to go this week," said Haas. "We know the weather is not going to be great but our guys are mentally prepared for that. They won't let that get to them and that's what you have to do to be successful in this type of weather."
The winning team score last year was 5-over par and with the forecast of chilly weather for this weekend, Haas and the Deacs know the importance of hanging tough.
"We know that par is going to be a good score," Haas said. "The Ridges is not an easy course under ideal conditions so we know it's going to be tough this week. Our guys can hopefully draw off the experience they gained by playing at Olympia Fields and in the final round of the VCU Shootout where birdies were hard to come by. You have to be patient and know that par is good score."
The field for this week's event will include 10 teams currently ranked in the nation's Top 50 by Golfweek/Sagarin. This group features No. 8 Oregon State, No. 11 North Carolina State, No. 13 Tennessee and No. 30 Auburn.
Individually, five players in the field currently rank in the Top 50 nationally, with Auburn's Kyle Kopsick the highest ranked player at No. 9. Gielow is ranked No. 20 and is followed by Virginia's Ben Kohles at No. 30 and Tennessee's Robin Wingardh at No. 31.
Coastal Carolina returns to the event as the defending champions, having held off ETSU by just one stroke in last year's tournament. The Deacons held the lead going into the final round but would slip to third at the end of the day, just two shots behind the Chanticleers.
Live scoring for the tournament will be available at Golfstat.com or by visiting ETSUBucs.com and clicking on the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate at The Ridges Logo.
The weather forecast for Johnson City, Tenn., this weekend is not ideal as temperatures are not expected to get out of the 40s on Friday and Saturday with a chance of rain both days. On Sunday, the temperature is supposed to reach the 50s under partly cloudy skies.
Players Mentioned
