With the exception of a disappointing loss for women’s basketball, NC State Athletics crushed the competition this week thanks to a number of impressive performances across the board.
Women’s tennis
NC State women’s tennis took down the No. 15 Oklahoma Sooners and No. 22 Tennessee Lady Vols this weekend in dominating fashion, defeating each team 6-1 on its home court.
The weekend was highlighted by the highly anticipated debut of freshman Diana Shnaider, who did not disappoint in her first two matches for the No. 10 Wolfpack. On Saturday, Feb. 4, Shnaider beat her Sooner opponent 6-4, 6-0, and on Sunday, Feb. 5, she defeated her ranked Tennessee opponent 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. The rest of the Pack continued to impress, with the exception of two doubles losses on Saturday and No. 25 junior Abigail Rencheli’s singles loss on Sunday.
Read more about the Pack’s ranked win over Oklahoma
Read more about NC State’s match against the Lady Vols
Women’s basketball suffers unexpected loss
NC State women’s basketball lost to Georgia Tech on the road Thursday, Feb. 2 in a game that signified a major step back for the Pack following a win over No. 7 Notre Dame the previous week.
Despite the loss, junior guard Diamond Johnson continued to dominate, leading the No. 15 Pack in scoring for the second straight game with 17 points. However, lackluster contributions from her teammates and a subpar defensive effort from the red-and-white ultimately resulted in a 68-62 loss to one of the worst teams in the ACC.
Read more about the Pack’s loss to Georgia Tech
Track and field sets new personal bests
NC State track and field traveled to Winston Salem to compete in the Camel City Invitational. Multiple Wolfpack athletes set new personal bests in addition to capturing top-10 finishes.
Junior Travis Koekemoer led the way with a first-place finish in the men’s mile, recording a time of 4:07.82. The women’s team claimed a number of second-place finishes, including senior Sam Bush in the elite mile, junior Makala Wright in the weighted throw, freshman Grace Hartman in the mile and junior Gionna Quarzo in the 3000m.
Read more about the Pack’s performance at the Camel City Invite
Gymnastics emerges victorious in tri-meet
NC State gymnastics hosted the UNC Tar Heels and the Western Michigan Broncos at Reynolds Coliseum on Saturday, Feb. 4. The Pack’s score of 196.275 allowed the team to scrape past both the Tar Heels and the Broncos, who recorded totals of 195.975 and 195.525, respectively.
The No. 23 Wolfpack performed well across the board, capturing first-place finishes in every event except for the uneven bars. Senior Emily Shepard recorded the best all-around score for the day at 39.375.
Read more about the Pack’s meet against UNC and WMU
Wrestling crushes Virginia
NC State wrestling defeated the Virginia Cavaliers 34-4 on Friday, Feb. 3. The Pack won nine out of 10 bouts, recording five major decisions and a tech fall.
Coming off of a dominating win over Duke, the Wolfpack had no problem taking care of business against the Cavaliers. No. 4 sophomore Ryan Jack opened up the match in the 141-pound bout with a 4-1 win over No. 29 Brian Courtney. Jack’s victory was one of three over ranked opponents that evening.
Read more about the Pack’s win at Virginia
Men’s basketball moves up in ACC standings
NC State men’s basketball hosted the Florida State Seminoles and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets this week, defeating both teams behind impressive efforts from graduate forward DJ Burns. With these wins, the Pack extends its win streak to four games and now ranks fourth in the ACC.
On Wednesday, Feb. 1, the Wolfpack coasted past the Seminoles in a 94-66 victory. Sophomore guard Terquavion Smith led the way with 32 points while Burns added 15 points. The Yellow Jackets, on the other hand, were able to do a much better job of putting pressure on the Pack’s guards, limiting Smith to just five points. Luckily, Burns seemed to be unbothered by the Yellow Jackets, recording a game-high 24 points. The red-and-white beat Georgia Tech 72-64.
