Duke Women Powerful Again; Balance Rules ACC Men 

By STEVE WILLIAMS 

The Atlantic Coast Conference is loaded with super teams and super players.

Defending national champion Duke is in a class by itself among women’s teams, but it will be hard to pick between Wake Forest, North Carolina and N.C. State for No. 2 in the league.

All-Americans like NCAA individual champ Virada Nirapathpongporn and Leigh Anne Hardin headline the Blue Devils cast.

The league also showcases All-Conference performers like Wake Forest’s Nuria Clau, North Carolina’s Ashley Prange and Duke’s Niloufar Aazam-Zanganeh.

Duke coach Dan Brooks lost Candy Hannemann to graduation but reloads with Liz Janangelo, one of the top freshmen in the country.

A pair of seniors – Kristina Engstrom and Maria Garcia-Estrada – will also figure into the Blue Devils’ mix.

"Obviously losing Candy is high impact on the team, but I am

looking forward to the increased experience the returning players have gained from this season and the championship," said Brooks.  "I think we learned a lot at the championship. The fact that we came back at the end and won, I think that will have a lasting effect on the team."

N.C. State is in just its third year under coach Page Marsh, but the Wolfpack has made rapid strides.

The Wolfpack roster of 13 players doesn’t list a senior. And all five returning starters know they will have to play well to reserve any tee times in competition.

Colby Cobb, Sarah Bonner, Malin Claesson, Erica Wein and Leslie Stubblefield formed the starting unit last spring but transfers Courtney Pomeranz (UNC-Wilmington) and Briana Vega (UNC-Greensboro) add even more experience to the mix.

“With the team we have returning and the young women joining the ranks this fall, we will have a strong nucleus of performers and will be able to compete at the national championships in May,” said Marsh, the 2002 ACC Coach of the Year.

The Wolfpack gave a preview of its potential with a third-place finish in the ACC Tournament last April and a 14th-place mark (among 21) in the East Regional.

Wake Forest will again count on the leadership of  Clau after finishing third in the regional and 22nd in the NCAAs last year.

Men’s Preview

The ACC men’s race has incredible balance with Georgia Tech, Clemson, N.C. State and North Carolina all returning solid casts after making plenty of noise in the NCAAs a year ago. Tech, Clemson and N.C. State finished 2-3-6 behind champ Minnesota last June. And North Carolina was stunning with its third-place showing in the East Regional, finishing just a shot off the pace of co-champs Clemson and Georgia Tech.

Wake Forest, another of the nation’s strongest teams, missed making the nationals a year ago by one shot.

Those teams gave the ACC five of the top nine in the country in the final 2001-02 Sagarin/Golfweek rankings in June.

North Carolina and Duke were also listed in the top-50.

All-Americans D.J. Trahan and Gregg Jones of Clemson, Bill Haas of Wake Forest, Dustin Bray of North Carolina, Justin Walters of N.C. State and NCAA individual champ Troy Matteson of Georgia Tech will again be the headliners this season.

Wake Forest, which was near the top of the rankings all of last season, will be back with more determination than ever.

"Obviously we have some unfinished business to take care of,” said Wake coach Jerry Haas. “That (not making it to NCAAs) happens if you play golf long enough, but it can't diminish the fact that we had a great season last year.

“Our goals this year are going to be to win five-six events, win ACCs and NCAAs. I don't think that's beyond the realm of possibility. I

know what happened last year will be brought up, but that should be our rallying cry.  We plan to do everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen again."

Bill Haas is the young gun of the Deacon line-up and he’s a junior. Seniors Chad Wilfong, Brent Wanner, Chris Yoder and Cortland Lowe all return with a final chance at NCAA glory.

Alex Yates and Kyle Reifers are two recruits with solid credentials and should be ready to step in if any of the veterans falter.

N.C. State and North Carolina both have the potential to challenge Clemson, Tech and Wake every step of the way.

The Wolfpack lost team leader Garth Mulroy but Justin Walters, Jason Moon, Fernando Mechereffe and Rodney Thomas are back. Freshman Andrew Lewis will be among the players trying to fill the void left by Mulroy.

Bray, the defending ACC individual champ, has all his teammates back and the Tar Heels have reason to believe that last spring’s regional performance was no fluke. Ramon Bescansa tied for 13th in the NCAAs and Bob Cherry was second in the regional.

Brad Moldin and Jeremy Elliott round out the cast.

Duke will be looking to rebound after a down season. Leif Olson assumes the role as the team’s senior leader.  Rob Beasley also returns for the Blue Devils.

Not all the good play is in the ACC, however. Up-and-coming programs at UNC-Wilmington, East Carolina, Campbell and Elon all have their goals set to make the NCAA regional field next spring.