Wolfpack Posts Best-Ever NCAA Finish

 By STEVE WILLIAMS

If there were questions about N.C. State’s rebuilt golf team, they disappeared early in the 2002 portion of the golf season as the Wolfpack repeatedly proved itself with high tournament finishes.

N.C. State had only one full-time starter back from an outstanding 2001 team, but coach Richard Sykes quickly regrouped with a pair of transfers and a capable freshman class. The Wolfpack’s season of success gained momentum in April and continued all the way to a sixth-place finish in the NCAA Tournament.

“It was great to have a couple of transfers, especially at the level they play at,” Sykes said of Justin Walters and Fernando Mechereffe.

Walters won the NAIA national championship at Huntington (Ala.) as a sophomore and Mechereffe brought strong credentials after a freshman season at Division II Wingate.

“I really knew more about Justin. Fernando was a surprise,” Sykes said of the time they signed with NCSU, noting that both wanted to play at the NCAA’s highest level.

They quickly joined the mix led by lone senior Garth Mulroy, the only returning full-time player, and junior Justin Moon, who played in the NCAAs a year ago when State failed to survive the 36-hole cut.

Highly-touted freshmen Rodney Thomas of Lexington and Banks Wood of Charlotte completed the regular cast with Thomas emerging in the spring schedule as a solid fifth man.

“Rodney was a great ball striker coming in but he certainly developed a short game a lot of intestinal fortitude this year,” Sykes said. “I couldn’t be more proud of him. With some of the places he put the ball (off the tee), he came up with some great scores.”

The Wolfpack didn’t get a lot of respect in early-season polls and that may have been a motivational factor.

“That gave the guys something to go after,” Sykes said.

After an eighth-place finish in the 15-team Puerto Rico Classic in late February, the Wolfpack went on a tear with a second, two thirds and a fourth heading into the ACC Tournament April 19-21. A surprising second-place finish there was followed by a fifth in the NCAA Central Regional.

Then in the NCAA Championship at Ohio State’s Scarlet Course May 29-June 1, N.C. State soared to sixth place in the exclusive 30-team field.

It was the best-ever mark for the Wolfpack in the NCAAs. Twice before (1982 and 1995), NCSU had placed eighth. The four-day team total of 1144 set a school record in the NCAAs, breaking the mark set in 1982 by 23 shots.

Surprising Minnesota won the national championship by four shots over top-ranked Georgia Tech, 1134 to 1138. Clemson and Texas shared third at 1142 and Augusta State was fifth at 1143. State’s eight-over-par total (286-281-292-285) was only 10 shots off the winning team’s pace.

Walters tied for sixth in the individual race with 280 (70-67-71-72), just four shots off the mark of champion Troy Matteson of Georgia Tech on a tightly-bunched leaderboard.

Walters won two tournaments during the season and was later named PING All-American. His performance in the NCAA Tourney was the second lowest four-day total by a Wolfpack golfer. Tim Clark’s 276 in 1998 remains the standard.

Moon finished strong in his second career appearance in the NCAA, shooting 287 (73-71-71-72) for a 38th place tie.

Mechereffe grabbed a share of 51st place at 289 (72-70-72-75) and Mulroy used a four-under-par 67 in the final round to finish 59th after starting the final round knotted in 116th place. He posted 71-74-78 the first three days.

Thomas finished at 302 in 138th place with (75-73-80-74).

North Carolina, the fourth ACC team to make it to the national championship tourney, settled for 17th place after a sensational third-place performance in the Eastern Regional.

Leading the Tar Heels were Ramon Bescansa with a tie for 13th at two-under-par 282 (69-72-70-71) and ACC champion Dustin Bray of Asheboro with a tie for 17th at 283 (68-68-75-72).

Brad Moldin posted a 296 total while Bob Cherry carded a 297 and Jeremy Elliott finished with a 301 total.