April 23, 2000

BADIN LAKE, N.C. -- Jonathan Byrd, D.J. Trahan and John Engler all had rounds in the 60s on Sunday, leading second-ranked Clemson to the championship of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. It was Clemson's third ACC Tournament championship in the last four years and sixth since 1987, all under Head Coach Larry Penley.

It was the second ACC Tournament Championship for Clemson sports teams this weekend. The men's track team won the ACC title at Durham, NC on Saturday.

Clemson trailed NC State by four strokes and number-one ranked Georgia Tech by three shots heading into the last round. But the Tigers fired a team tournament best 278 to win the event by five shots. The 856 team score and eight-under-par score was the third lowest by the Tigers in their 47-year ACC Tournament in history. It marked the eighth straight tournament in 1999-00 that Clemson has been under-par as a team, an all-time Clemson record.

Jonathan Byrd was Clemson's top player on Sunday, the final ACC Tournament for the Tigers senior All-American. The native of Columbia shot a five-under-par 67, his lowest ACC tournament score as a Clemson player. Byrd, whose 74 on Saturday did not count towards Clemson's team score, finished in a tie for fourth at the event, his best finish ever at the ACC Tournament. It marked the fourth straight year he finished in the top 10 at the ACC Tournament.

D.J. Trahan, the only freshman in the Clemson lineup, shot a 68 on Sunday and finished at 213 for the 54 holes, tied for fourth with Byrd and Georgia Tech All-American Matt Kuchar. Trahan improved by exactly three strokes each day of the tournament.

Clemson's top finisher for the tournament was Augusta, GA native John Engler. The Tiger junior All-American shot a 69 on Sunday and finished at 210, good enough for a tie for second place with Carl Petterson of NC State. Bryce Molder of Georgia Tech won the tournament with a 206 score. Engler has now finished in the top five at the ACC Tournament each of his three years as a Tiger.

Jani Saari, a junior from Greenville, shot a 74 on Sunday and finished 19th at 221, five over par. However, the consistent player's score counted all three days towards Clemson's team score. Lucas Glover, Clemson's low stroke average player for the year heading into the event, struggled on Sunday and shot a 77. He finished 26th with a 224 score.

Clemson will now break for semester exams and next be in action May 19-21 at the NCAA East Regional at Scranton, PA.

 Fin Team                  Scores
   1 Clemson University    290  288  278    856    -8
   2 Georgia Tech          287  288  286    861    -3
   3 North Carolina State  284  290  288    862    -2
   4 Wake Forest Univ.     294  290  291    875   +11
   5 North Carolina, U of  295  289  297    881   +17
   6 Duke University       296  293  294    883   +19
   7 Virginia, U. of       300  298  293    891   +27
   8 Maryland, U. of       295  302  295    892   +28
   9 Florida State Univ.   305  303  303    911   +47

 Fin  Name                  School          Scores
   1  Bryce Molder          Ga. Tech        72  67  67 206  -10
   2  Carl Pettersson       NC State        70  71  69 210   -6
      John Engler           Clemson         70  71  69 210   -6
   4  Jonathan Byrd         Clemson         72  74  67 213   -3
      Matt Kuchar           Ga. Tech        71  73  69 213   -3
      D.J. Trahan           Clemson         74  71  68 213   -3
   7  Chris Mundorf         NC State        71  72  71 214   -2
   8  Max Harris            N Carolina      74  69  73 216    E
      Jay Morgan            Wk. Forest      72  69  75 216    E
  10  Keith Unikel          Maryland        71  75  71 217   +1
      Cameron Yancey        Virginia        75  70  72 217   +1
      Brad Hyler            N Carolina      71  70  76 217   +1
  13  Troy Matteson         Ga. Tech        72  73  73 218   +2
  14  Brent Wanner          Wk. Forest      74  73  72 219   +3
      Leif Olson            Duke            74  73  72 219   +3
      Steve Marino          Virginia        72  76  71 219   +3
      Paul Tucker           Duke            74  74  71 219   +3
  18  David Sanchez         NC State        71  76  73 220   +4
  19  Mark Donaldson        Florida St      74  73  74 221   +5
      Buck Williams         Wk. Forest      79  71  71 221   +5
      Jani Saari            Clemson         74  73  74 221   +5
  22  Gary Mankulish        Maryland        75  73  74 222   +6
      Marc Turnesa          NC State        72  75  75 222   +6
      Mark Tullo            NC State        72  72  78 222   +6
      Whitten Meares        N Carolina      74  74  74 222   +6
  26  Matt Krauss           Duke            74  72  78 224   +8
      Lucas Glover          Clemson         74  73  77 224   +8
      Kevin Streelman       Duke            75  74  75 224   +8
  29  James Driscoll        Virginia        74  78  73 225   +9
      Chris Yoder           Wk. Forest      75  77  73 225   +9
  31  Rob Simmons           N Carolina      76  76  74 226  +10
      John Moheyer          Maryland        74  76  76 226  +10
      Chad Wilfong          Wk. Forest      73  77  76 226  +10
      Matt Weibring         Ga. Tech        72  75  79 226  +10
  35  Jason Lopez           Florida St      76  77  74 227  +11
      Corey Brigham         Maryland        75  78  74 227  +11
      Bradley Lusenhop      Florida St      79  73  75 227  +11
  38  Mike Christensen      Duke            74  79  76 229  +13
  39  Justin Goodhue        Virginia        79  76  77 232  +16
  40  Carlton Forrester     Ga. Tech        77  79  77 233  +17
  41  Paul Daniel           N Carolina      77  81  77 235  +19
  42  Dan MacDonald         Maryland        80  82  77 239  +23
  43  Kris Hannah           Florida St      81  80  80 241  +25
      Ryan Felty            Florida St      76  85  80 241  +25
  45  Mike Mitchell         Virginia        86  76  81 243  +27