It’s been a big month for NC State athletes — both in Raleigh and on the international stage — so let’s take a look at some of the top performances from the month of September.
Diana Shnaider, women’s tennis
Not to be lost in all the excitement on campus, Wolfpack freshman Diana Shnaider won big this September on the international stage, becoming this year’s junior girls’ doubles champion at the U.S. Open along with her partner Lucie Havlickova.
The pair was unstoppable throughout the week, winning every match in straight sets, including the final, which ended in a score of 6-3, 6-2.
Shnaider also went far in the singles bracket of the tournament, falling in the semifinal to Havlickova.
Amelia Rajecki, women’s tennis
Also a big name on the court this month is junior Amelia Rajecki, who took the singles title at this year’s College Fall Ranked Spotlight.
Rajecki also went undefeated throughout her run, which saw her defeat both the 106th and 125th ranked competitors in the tournament.
Aydan White, football
After a 4-0 start to the year for NC State football, there are multiple players that could have made this list, but there’s two in particular so far who have walked away with ACC honors.
One is sophomore cornerback Aydan White, who was not only named the ACC Defensive Back of the Week after his performance against Texas Tech, but also picked up national recognition, being named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week Sept. 18.
Most notably from this performance is his interception in the second quarter that he returned for an 84-yard touchdown, which marks the seventh-longest pick-six in school history and the longest since 2001.
White also picked up five tackles, an eight-yard sack and another interception in the 27-14 win.
Grant Gibson, football
Graduate offensive lineman Grant Gibson also deserves some recognition as he was named the ACC Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week after the UConn matchup, helping lead the NC State offense to 492 yards of offense and six touchdowns.
Sam Bush, women’s cross country
Both the NC State men’s and women’s cross country teams dominated at their first meet of the season, the Adidas XC Challenge, but it was senior Sam Bush who came away with ACC Women’s Co-Performer of the Week honor.
Bush began the season with her first career collegiate win with a time of 16:14.5, six seconds ahead of any other competitor on a field with 106 other runners from 13 different teams.
This win marks a huge improvement from last season as Bush took 27 seconds off her own time on this same course in 2021, and it’s also 15 seconds faster than the winning time that year.
Vania Simont, women’s golf
Despite a 10th-place finish at the Cougar Classic for the NC State women’s golf team, freshman Vania Simont was a bright light with a top-15 finish, the best for the Wolfpack at this event since 2016.
Her first round was bogey-free and ended at 3-under par. She shot 2-over par in the middle round but recovered quickly to end the tournament at 2-under par, tying for 13th place.
Ava Brizard, volleyball
It was a big month for newcomers to NC State as freshman outside hitter Ava Brizard was another member of the Pack to earn an ACC accolade during the month of September.
Her performance of 32 kills, 34.5 points, 24 digs and three blocks back during the first weekend of the NC State Classic led her to the ACC Freshman of the Week title earlier in the month on Sept. 5.
The future is bright for Brizard as she has only continued to be a large asset to the Pack since then, including another incredible weekend performance in games against Virginia and No. 10 Pitt, totaling 28 kills, 31 points and 18 digs.
