Wake Forest freshman Mark Power turned in a 5-under par 67 in a round that featured eight birdies to take the individual stroke play championship honors in the men’s division; while Duke senior Ana Belac and Wake Forest sophomore Vanessa Knecht each carded a 3-under par 69 to earn co-medalist honors in the women’s division at the 5th annual East Lake Cup in Atlanta.
Power’s 5-under par round included five birdies on his back-nine en route to his 67 and capturing his first individual championship. Knecht’s 3-under par round in the women’s division included a source of inspiration. She and her teammates, along with the Wake Forest men’s team, wore pink in honor of former Wake Forest women’s golf coach Dianne Dailey, who is currently battling breast cancer and is on-hand this week for the East Lake Cup. Belac birdied five of her last seven holes on the second nine at East Lake Golf Club to tie Knecht for co-medalist honors.
“It means the world to me that Coach Dailey was here today,” said Knecht. “Having her here for my first collegiate win is more important to me than I could ever vocalize.” She recruited me and brought me to the Wake family. Without her I wouldn’t be here.”
“This was one of my favorite tournaments my freshman year, probably my favorite,” said Belac. “Coming back here brings back all the good memories, and to win it is really special.”
“This is a special place and I’ve watched the TOUR Championship so many times on TV. To watch Tiger and Rory getting the job done on this course, and just to know we’re walking the same fairways as those guys, is pretty special,” said Power. “When I was walking up to the 18th green there it felt really good. I had that picture of Tiger walking up there with thousands of fans. To win on the same course that they did is really special.”
TUESDAY’S SEMIFINAL MATCHES:
Women’s: (No. 1) Duke vs. (No. 4) Auburn; (No. 2) Arizona vs. (No. 3) Wake Forest
Men’s: (No. 1) Texas vs. (No. 4) Vanderbilt; (No. 2) Wake Forest vs. (No. 3) Oklahoma State
GOLF Channel’s live coverage of Tuesday’s semifinals of team match play will air from 3-6 p.m. ET. Golf Central Pre-Game (2-3 p.m. ET) will preview each semifinal match, and provide updates on matches already in progress.
