June 18, 2004

Wake Forest rising senior Ashley Hoagland defeated rising sophomore teammate Maggie Simons in a playoff Thursday to capture the prestigious Eastern Amateur championship at Bayville Golf Club in Virginia Beach, Va.

Hoagland and Simons each shot an even par 216 in the 54-hole event to finish ahead of a strong 80-player field. Hoagland won a three-hole aggregate playoff to win the title. The Demon Deacon duo finished one stroke ahead of Kathy Hartwiger. Hoagland and Simons also finished ahead of North and South Junior champion Jackie Beers of Georgia and North Carolina's Meaghan Francella, who won the 2003 ACC title and the 2004 NCAA East Regional crown.

Hoagland shot 74-72-70 to overtake Simons, who shot 70-70-76.

Mandy Goins also participated in the event, finishing tied for 21st place. Her three rounds totaled 230. (78-76-76) She will also be a sophomore next year for the Demon Deacons.

Hoagland and Goins, earlier this year, helped Wake Forest to a second-place finish in the ACC Tournament and a 14th-place finish in the NCAA Championship.

The Women's Eastern Amateur began in 1906 and includes former champions such as Debbie Massey, Patty Rizzo, Alice Dye and Peggy Kirk Bell. Former Deacons Stephanie Neill Harner and Laura Philo Diaz are also past champions of the event.