Oct. 22, 2008
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - After nearly three weeks off, the 9th-ranked Wake Forest women's golf team will be back in action this weekend at the Landfall Tradition at The Landfall Country Club in Wilmington, N.C. This weekend will wrap up a successful fall season for the Demon Deacons, who won the Lady Tar Heel Invitational in impressive fashion on Oct. 3-5. Wake placed three players in the top-5, including senior Jean Chua and sophomore Natalie Sheary sharing medalist honors. It was the first time in school history that two Deacons earned medalist honors in the same tournament. Looking to keep the momentum rolling, head coach Dianne Dailey will send the same lineup that won the Lady Tar Heel into action this weekend. "The win really helped to boost the student's confidence," said Dailey. "It led into a good couple of weeks of practice and I think they are really ready to go this weekend." Senior Nannette Hill, junior Dolores White and freshman Cheyenne Woods will join Chua and Sheary to make up the Deacon-five. Wake is also looking to defending its lone win of 2007. The Deacs fired a tournament record tying 281 in the second round and eventually won the Landfall last season by nine shots. The Deacons also placed four golfers in the top-12 led by Hill's first collegiate victory. She fired a sensational 6-under 66 in the second round which propelled her to a one-shot victory. Hill obviously has a good feel for the Nicklaus course as she also finished tied for fourth as a freshman in 2005. Sheary posted a 71 in the second round a year ago and wound up finishing 12th. She is coming off of rounds of 71-70-75=216 (E) at the Lady Tar Heel, which earned her medalist honors for the second time in her career.
Chua has had a solid fall campaign for the Deacs, averaging 74.6 strokes over her nine rounds. She fired a season-low 2-under par 70 in the final round of the Lady Tar Heel to comeback and earn a share of medalist honors. Chua pulled even with the leaders after making a clutch birdie on her final hole of the tournament. After leading the team at the NCAA Fall Preview, Woods stumbled a bit at the Mason Rudolph but looked to regain her form after a stellar final round 71 at the Lady Tar Heel. The 71 is her lowest round of the fall and helped her finish tied for 28th. She brings a stroke average of 76.3 into action this weekend. White has been very consistent so far this season, averaging 77.8. She carded rounds of 79-76-78 at the Lady Tar Heel and four of her six rounds this season have counted towards the team score. The Demon Deacons enter the field this weekend as the highest ranked team. ACC rival North Carolina is ranked 13th while Florida (22) and Ohio State (T25) are the other ranked teams in the field according to Golf World's latest poll. The Nicklaus Course at the Landfall Country Club has proven to be a difficult test of golf over the past few years but the weather may also play a factor this weekend. The forecast is for cloudy skies Friday but Saturday calls for a 70 percent chance of rain and high winds. Sunday looks to be the nicest day, as the forecast is calling for sunny skies and temperatures in the high 60s. "People may look at us as the favorites this weekend but it won't be easy at all because there are some really good teams there this weekend," said Dailey. "The weather isn't going to make things any easier. The course is tough enough as it is with a very tough stretch of finishing holes." "If the weather does get bad, we'll just have to stay mentally tough and try to stick to the gameplan," Dailey continued. "The toughest thing to do in bad weather is to stay patient and disciplined and I think if the girls can do that, then we'll be where we need to be come Sunday." Live scoring will be provided by Golfstat for all three rounds. This will be the final tournament of the fall season for the Lady Deacs. They will be back in action after the first of the year at the Northrop Grumman Regional in Palos Verdes, Calif., on Feb. 9-11. Sheary is the defending champion of the event as she and Hill became the first Deacon combo to win back-to-back tournament titles. |
