Every dog has its day. Unfortunately for Wake Forest, their day was not at the 2013 ACC Championship.
Clare Stanton/Old Gold & Black
Wake Forest finished in eighth place out of 11 teams, with every school in the ACC but Miami represented. For many squads, eighth place in the ACC would be a success, but head coach Jerry Haas was hoping for a higher result for his team, which has played well in some very difficult tournaments this year.
“We made plenty of birdies, but there were far too many mistakes,” Haas said. “It’s disappointing to finish eighth, but we have to put that behind ourselves now and move on. It’s a new season now.”
The ACC Championship was hosted in New London, N.C. by Old North State Club from April 27-28. Inclement weather in the area made conditions extremely difficult that Wake had to battle through on the final round.
“At the end of the day, you play golf for five hours, but ten minutes can really dictate your score,” Haas said. “As a team, we are struggling to finish well, and that must change.”
Even though it was not Wake’s best performance of the year, it may have been Duke’s. The Deacons’ rival from Durham, N.C. took home the first place trophy with an impressive score of 25-under par. The Blue Devils were neck-in-neck with the Seminoles for Florida State for much of the tournament, but ultimately, Duke proved to be too much for Florida State to keep pace with. Florida State finished tied for second place with Virginia Tech at 22-under par.
“Duke has played incredible this year,” Haas said. “We play in a good conference, but you still have to be competitive and play for yourself.”
Individually, sophomore Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Anders Albertson entered the clubhouse with an individual ACC Title when his efforts amounted to a 15-under par performance, which was five shots better than the closest competitor.
On the Deacons’ squad, senior All-American Evan Beck notched yet another top-20 finish this season with a score of 2-under par, marking his ninth top-20 finish this season in all nine Wake Forest tournaments.
Another bright spot for the Deacs was the performance of freshman David Womble who finished in a tie for 24th place. It was his best showing of the year, and is extremely impressive for a freshman.
Wake Forest will now concentrate its efforts on the NCAA Regionals, which take place in six different locations. The Deacons await their assignment which will be announced on a selection show that will air 9 p.m. May 6 on NCAASports.com.
“A lot of success at NCAA Regionals is about the course, and we will have to adjust wherever we go,” Haas said. “Golf is about being ready to play wherever the tournament is held.”