Wake Forest goes wire to wire in ACC Championship win

Wake Forest is on a well-timed streak. It’s the end of the season – and now the big opportunities are approaching – and the Demon Deacons have won three straight. On Saturday, the ACC Championship went down as the team’s latest accomplishment.

After playing a 36-hole Thursday at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., then taking Friday off as weather moved through the area, Wake Forest’s nine-shot lead became an eight-shot victory on Saturday. The Demon Deacons went 5 under in the final round and at 14 under total, were well ahead of runner-up Florida State. Still, the Seminoles had the low final-round score of 7 under.

The title represents Wake Forest’s sixth ACC Championship win in program history, but the first since 2010. Three consecutive victories matches the longest win streak in school history, set in the fall of 1994.

"We have been playing very well all spring, especially over the last month," said head coach Kim Lewellen. "The ACC is the best conference in the country, so we knew it was going to be tough. To have the team perform at the level they did this weekend, it shows how they are great competitors. This is what you practice for all season long, for postseason play and winning championships. I am just so pleased for them that they could see all their hard work pay off with success."

Wake Forest has a strong one-two punch in World No. 1 Jennifer Kupcho, also the recent Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion, and Emilia Migliaccio. On Saturday, it was the sophomore Migliaccio that prevailed in the individual race. Her 11-under total left her two shots ahead of teammate Siyun Liu in second.

Kupcho finished T-12 at 3 over.

The win was Migliaccio’s third of the season.

"I wasn't going to just try and protect my lead because I knew the players behind me would go low," said Migliaccio. "I started off with a bogey but didn't let it get to me and just kept playing my game. I hit some really close wedges in the middle of the round for some tap-in birdies and that gave me some momentum. This has been an incredible week. Of course I happy about winning the title, but I am even happier that we were able to win as a team and I can share this moment with my teammates."

Behind Florida State, Duke was third at 4 over and Virginia was fourth, another two shots back. Louisville rounded out the top 5 with a 26-over total.

Information from Wake Forest Athletics used in this report