The Wake Forest women’s golf team celebrates after a made putt Tuesday. (Photo: Wake Forest women’s golf)
It’s hard to picture a better start for the defending national champions.
Six months ago, Wake Forest was hoisting a trophy at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. At the end of the fall season, the Demon Deacons again look like championship contenders.
Wake Forest has won three times in five events this fall, two of those coming via match-play victories. Its first win came at the Schooner Classic in September in Norman, Oklahoma. Then in October, a pair of victories came at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup at Trinity Forest in Dallas and the East Lake Cup at Atlanta Athletic Club in Georgia. Both the Stephens Cup and East Lake Cup wins were via match play, beating Texas in Dallas and Stanford (more on the Cardinal later) in Atlanta.
Wake Forest returned four-time All-American Rachel Kuehn to this season’s team but lost stalwarts Emilia Migliaccio and Lauren Walsh.
However, junior Carolina Lopez-Chacarra has been phenomenal to start the season. She hasn’t finished worse than 15th and was on the final fall watch list for the Annika Award.
Also playing strong is freshman Macy Pate, who has a pair of top-10 finishes and a T-2 finish in stroke play at the East Lake Cup.
The Demon Deacons are title contenders again, and they proved that with a stellar start.