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April 20, 2006
Charlottesville, VA – The Virginia men’s golf team will play in the 53rd annual Atlantic Coast Conference Championship April 21-23 at the Old North State Club at Uwharrie Point in New London, N.C. This marks the fifth consecutive year the tournament has been contested at the Old North State Club. The 54-hole event will start at 8:30 a.m. each morning. Virginia is paired with North Carolina and Maryland during Friday’s opening round.
Last year the Cavaliers placed fifth at the tournament behind the third-place finish of Brad Tilley. He finished at even-par 216, 10 shots behind medalist Ryan Blaum of Duke. The Blue Devils also took the team title with a score of 865. It was Duke’s first ACC title since 1966. Virginia finished at 884 thanks to rounds of 299, 303 and 282.
Georgia Tech carries the highest Golfweek ranking heading into the tournament that features five squads ranked in the top 20. The Yellow Jackets are ranked fourth followed by Clemson (10), Wake Forest (15), Duke (16) and North Carolina (19). With 18 league championships, Wake Forest has won the most conference titles.
Virginia’s lineup will include Tilley, senior Carter Henderson, freshman Conrad Von Borsig, junior Eamonn McLoughlin and junior Andrea Signor. Signor, who has played in five of the team’s nine tournaments, tops the Cavaliers with a 73.40 stroke average. Tilley is third at 73.74 while McLoughlin is fourth at 73.95.
This will be Tilley’s fourth appearance at the ACC Championship. As a freshman in 2003 he was 15th at 6-over 222. During his sophomore season he dropped to 42nd after shooting 232. Henderson, who transferred from Middle Tennessee State after his sophomore season, was 13th at last year’s league championship at 5-over 221. McLoughlin placed 36th as a first year and was 29th last season.
The finish at the ACC Championship will also determine who receives the one point allocated for men’s golf in the Commonwealth Challenge presented by Adelphia between Virginia and Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers have already clinched the inaugural trophy and own a 13-6 scoring advantage in the Challenge’s standings. Since the two Virginia teams may not face each other during any regular-season events, the ACC Championship is used to decide the outcome for the scoring in the rivalry.
Live scoring of the event will be on the Internet at www.golfstat.com.