North Carolina State University Athletics
No. 15/16 Wolfpack Drive for 2003 ACC Championship
4/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 17, 2003
One would assume that most coaches would be concerned after a sixth place finish at the Intercollegiate heading into the ACC Championship from April 18-20. But then again, most coaches aren't 32-year Wolfpack head coach Richard Sykes. Coach Sykes will look to lead another talented team to victory at the Old North State course at Uwharrie Pt., N.C. Ben Hogan Award and All-America candidate Justin Walters, and All-ACC candidates Jason Moon, Fernando Mechereffe and Stephen Lewton will join Rodney Thomas in the Wolfpack's starting five for the 2003 ACC Championship. Each of the five, with the exception of freshman Lewton, participated for the Wolfpack in the 2002 ACC Championship.
"The Intercollegiate field showcased nine of the top-40 teams in the country, and we beat the defending national champions [Minnesota]," Sykes said. "Our guys took it hard because they expected to play alot better. But hey, I still like our chances for the ACC Championship. We know what we need to work on and what we need to do to win, and our guys are familiar with the Old North State, so we'll see."
The competition will be even greater this time around, as six ACC teams are among the top-30 nationally; Clemson (No. 1), Wake Forest (No. 2), North Carolina (No. 10), Georgia Tech (No. 15), NC State (No. 16), and Duke (No. 30).
NC State's Hogan Award Semifinalist Justin Walters is the third highest ranked golfer in the ACC at No. 7 nationally, trailing only D.J. Trahan of Clemson (No. 1) and Bill Haas of Wake Forest (No. 4). Overall, five of the top-10 and seven of the top-14 are golfers from the ACC. No conference in the nation can come close to matching the ACC's golf dominance in the individual rankings.
Walters enters the ACC Championship with a season stroke average of 71.1 (70.7 in the spring) to lead NC State. The senior has fired 28 of his 30 rounds at or below 75, including seven rounds in the 60s. Walters' career stroke average of 71.56 betters that of the 1997 ACC Player of the Year for NC State, Tim Clark, a fellow South African native, who holds the school record of 71.83. Walters finished 14th after a final round 68 at the 2002 ACC Championship.
Moon is the Wolfpack's most experienced golfer heading into the 2003 postseason, as the ACC Championship will mark his 36th career tournament played, and 106, 107, and 108th round of collegiate golf. He will easily slip into the career top-10 for rounds play after the season is over. Moon is coming off of a 8th place finish at the Intercollegiate, and the senior finished t-32nd in last year's ACC Championship. He is ranked the nations 96th best collegiate golfer, and 16th best in the ACC.
Fernando Mechereffe finished tied for 17th in the 2002 ACC Championship with a second round 69. His stroke average of 72.3 for the spring is tied for second on the team this year and he leads the team with five rounds at even-par on the season. Mechereffe is the nation's 74th best golfer.
Stephen Lewton is a young and talented freshman who, over his last three tournaments, is a combined one-stroke-under-par against the 12th toughest schedule nationally. He is ranked 72nd by Golfweek.
Rounding out NC State's starting five is sophomore Rodney Thomas. Thomas finished tied for sixth for his best finish of his career at the 2002 ACC Championship. He fired a career-low 68 in the final round for a career-low tournament total of 209.
Notes: The Wolfpack has played the nation's fourth toughest schedule and has finished in the top-six six times this year ... NC State is tied with Clemson by having four golfers ranked in the top-100 nationally to lead all ACC schools ... North Carolina can claim three players, while Wake Forest and Georgia Tech each have two ... NC State has an average ACC finish of 3.25 in the las four championships held at Old North State ... Nine of the last 10 ACC Championships has had a Wolfpack golfer in the top-10, including a current streak of five straight ... NC State has had at least one top-10 individual in 32 of the 49 ACC Championships.
