April 16, 2008

• ACC Championship Notes
• First Round Pairings
• ACC Championship Site

•CAROLINA IN THE ACC CHAMPIONSHIP: North Carolina will be going after its 12th ACC victory and its first since 2006 when the 55th annual ACC Championship begins this Friday and continues through Sunday at the Old North State Club at Uwharrie Point in New London, N.C. The Old North State Club features a par 72, 7,102-yard layout. This marks the 12th time the ACC Men's Golf Championship has been played at Old North State. The conference championship was also played there in 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. Carolina won the team title at Old North State in 1995, 1996 and 2006 (tie with Georgia Tech) while Tar Heel Mark Wilson was the individual medalist in 1996, Dustin Bray was crowned the 2002 champion and Richard Treis was the 2003 individual champion. Carolina has won the conference championship, which began in 1954, 11 times. The Tar Heels have come away victorious in 2006 (tie with Georgia Tech), 1996, 1995, 1986, 1984, 1983, 1981, 1977, 1965, 1960 and 1956.

Tee times begin at 8:30 a.m. each day. On Friday, the first wave of teams will be Georgia Tech and Clumson. The second wave of teams, which will begin teeing off at 9:10, will be Duke, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest; the third wave, teeing off at 10:10, will consist of North Carolina, NC State and Virginia; and the fourth wave, starting at 11:10, will be Boston College, Florida State and Maryland.

•TAR HEEL INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS: Thirteen Tar Heel golfers have captured the individual ACC Championship in the 54 years of the tournament's existence. Carolina's Richard Treis was the 2003 ACC champion, winning by two strokes with a five-under-par 211 total after firing rounds of 72-69-70. Other Tar Heel champions include Dustin Bray in 2002, Mark Wilson in 1996, Greg Parker in 1987, John Hughes in 1986, Davis Love III in 1984, John Inman in 1982, John Spelman in 1981, Marty West in 1971, John Baldwin in 1965, Pete Green in 1961, Bill Thornton in 1958 and Pryde Basinger in 1956.

•CAROLINA THIS SPRING: North Carolina has carded three top-six finishes this spring. The Tar Heels finished fourth at the Seminole Intercollegiate, the first event of the spring campaign. Kevin O'Connell tied for third place and Barden Berry tied for 11th place. In the last two tournaments, Carolina finished fifth at the Administaff Augusta State Invitational and finished sixth at the River Landing Intercollegiate. O'Connell was Carolina's top finisher in both events, tying for eighth at the Administaff Augusta State Invitational and tying for 11th at the River Landing Intercollegiate played in Wallace, N.C. In their other tournaments this spring, the Tar Heels finished 10th at the Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational in Statesboro, Ga., and placed 12th at the General Hackler Championship in Murrells Inlet, S.C.

•CAROLINA IN THE FALL: Last fall, the Tar Heels tied for first at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate at The Ridges in Jonesborough, Tenn. Three Tar Heels finished in the top 15 - Robert Riesen tied for fourth, Kevin O'Connell tied for seventh and Barden Berry tied for 13th. Carolina finished fourth at the UNCG Bridgestone Collegiate Championship, the last event of the fall campaign. Berry and David Holzworth both tied for fourth place and O'Connell tied for 15th. In their other tournaments, the Tar Heels placed sixth at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate in Birmingham, Ala., and tied for seventh at the VCU Shootout in Manakin-Sabot, Va. O'Connell was the top Tar Heel in both events, tying for fourth place at the VCU Shootout and tying for sixth place at the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate.

•CARLYLE POINT ON THE LINE: One Carlyle Cup point will be awarded to either Carolina or Duke, whichever finishes higher, in the ACC Championship. The Carlyle Cup is a competition between the two schools. Carolina currently leads Duke 16-5 going into this weekend's compeition (men's and women's golf, men's and women's track and women's rowing). Carolina has already clinched a win in this year's competition. The results and point breakdown can be found on TarHeelBlue.com.