Sports > October 18, 2007

By Alex Botoman | Contributing writer

In its third event of the fall, the No. 13 Wake Forest men’s golf team started strong, but faded on the final day of play to finish in seventh place in the Bank of Tennessee at The Ridges Oct. 12-14.

The event took place at the The Ridges Golf and Country Club in Jonesborough, Tenn.

The competitors included ACC rivals UNC-Chapel Hill, Virginia Tech, Maryland, N.C.State and Virginia.

The field also contained No. 6 South Carolina and No. 9 Auburn.

The Deacs were led on the first day by senior Webb Simpson and sophomore Brendan Gielow, who both shot two-under par 70 scores and finished the day tied for sixth place individually.

Senior Chris McCartin and freshman Chris Cannon posted scores of 73 while junior Dustin Groves shot a 76.

After the first round of play the Deacons were in third place, four strokes behind leader East Tennessee State.

Led by a strong round from Gielow, the Deacons surged on the second day of play to finish in first place overall.

Gielow shot a five-under par 67 while Groves and McCartin each posted two-under par 70s. Simpson contributed a one-under par 71 and Cannon scored a three-over 75.

Gielow finished the day tied for second place among individuals, while Simpson finished tied for 11th.

The Deacs could not continue the momentum on the final day of play and they finished in seventh place with a five-under par 859.

The lone bright spot for Wake Forest on day three was Simpson, who shot a four-under par 68 to finish in a tie for fourth place individually.

The team’s hopes for a strong finish were undone by Cannon and McCartin, who posted scores of 78 and 77 respectively.

Gielow scored a three-over 75 that left him in 12th place. Groves also shot a 75.

Freshman Justin Bryant and redshirt freshman Rob Barrow, who were competing individually, finished the tournament in 71st and 81st places respectively.

UNC-Chapel Hill and Virginia Tech finished the tournament tied for the lead with 12-under par 852s.

UNC was awarded the championship after winning the tiebreaker of having the better scorecard from their fifth player.

The Deacons will be back in action when they travel to Orlando, Fla., to take part in the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational Oct. 21-23 and then travel to Forest Oaks, S.C., Oct. 29-30.