NC State Athletics has closed out another week of inspiring victories and heartbreaking losses, so without further ado, let’s take a look at everything that went down this week in the world of Wolfpack sports.
Women’s basketball gets back in the win column
NC State women’s basketball picked up two ACC wins this week to get back on the winning track after two consecutive losses. The No. 20 Pack beat the Miami Hurricanes 71-61 and took down the Louisville Cardinals 63-51.
The Wolfpack had a bad start, but made an 18-4 run to get back in the game against the Canes, closing out the first half with a 16-point lead. Miami cut the lead to seven early on in the fourth quarter, but the red-and-white didn’t let them come any closer than that. Against the Cardinals, an all-around effort from the Wolfpack was critical to the victory. NC State had four players score in the double digits with senior forward Jada Boyd leading the charge with 15 points.
Read more about the Pack’s win over Miami
Read more about NC State’s victory at Louisville
Track and field make strong showing at Hokie Invitational
NC State track and field traveled to Blacksburg, Virginia to compete in the Hokie Invitational on Friday, Jan. 20 and Saturday, Jan. 21. The men’s team captured first place finishes in the 60-meter hurdles and the distance medley relay and placed in the top-three in the triple jump, 1-mile, 600-meter, 3000-meter and the long jump events.
Graduate student Cameron Murray recorded a time of 7.67 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles to claim first place. Murray also took second in the long jump with a leap of 7.54m. In the distance medley relay, NC State clocked in a time of 9:45.51 to win the race.
Read more about the Pack’s performance at the Hokie Invitational
Gymnastics gets first wins of 2023 in tri-meet
NC State gymnastics hosted the Pittsburgh Panthers and the George Washington Colonials in a tri-meet on Saturday, Jan. 21. Behind an outstanding performance from senior Chloe Negrete, the Pack beat both teams with a final score of 196.650. Negrete scored a 9.900 on the uneven bars, the beam and the floor.
Read more about the Pack’s first wins of the 2023 season
Wrestling narrowly falls to Virginia Tech
NC State wrestling faced off against the Virginia Tech Hokies on Friday, Jan. 20 in its first ACC matchup of the season. The No. 5 Pack fell to the Hokies 16-14.
No. 29 redshirt junior Jarrett Trombley, No. 6 sophomore Ryan Jack, No. 32 freshman Matty Singleton, No. 3 redshirt junior Trent Hidlay and No. 12 redshirt sophomore Owen Trephan picked up victories for the Wolfpack, but it wasn’t enough to beat a powerful Hokie squad in their home arena.
Read more about the Pack’s loss to the Hokies
Swim and dive takes on UNC and Virginia
NC State swim and dive competed against the Virginia Cavaliers and the UNC Tar Heels on Friday, Jan. 20 at UNC’s Koury Natatorium and Saturday, Jan. 21 at the Pack’s Casey R. Willis Aquatic Center. The No. 4 Wolfpack men defeated both the Tar Heels and the No. 14 Cavaliers while the No. 4 women’s team beat No. 17 UNC but fell to No. 1 Virginia.
On the men’s side, the red-and-white swept the 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard butterfly and 50-yard freestyle events. On the women’s side, the Pack won the 200-yard freestyle, the 100-yard backstroke and the 200-yard individual medley.
Read more about the Pack’s performance in ACC tri-meet
Men’s basketball beats Georgia Tech, clashes with UNC
NC State men’s basketball split its two road games this week, beating the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Tuesday, Jan. 17 but falling to the UNC Tar Heels on Saturday, Jan. 21
Against the Yellow Jackets, the Wolfpack was led by sophomore guard Terquavion Smith with a game-high 25 points. The red-and-white beat Georgia Tech 78-66. Against the Tar Heels, NC State played a close game but was understandably rattled by Smith’s scary injury midway through the second half. Additionally, the Pack shot just 12 free throws to UNC’s 39, which undoubtedly factored into the 80-69 loss.
Read more about the Pack’s win at Georgia Tech
Read more about NC State’s loss to UNC.
Men’s tennis falls twice in action-packed week
NC State men’s tennis lost its two matches this week, falling to the Northwestern Wildcats on Monday, Jan. 16, and again to the Harvard Crimson on Saturday, Jan. 21. The Pack fell 4-3 to both teams.
Against the Wildcats, the Wolfpack won two doubles matches to gain a 1-0 advantage going into singles play. However, the Wildcats won four of the six singles matches to clinch the victory. Against the No. 16 Crimson, No. 21 NC State lost the doubles point and only won three singles matches, resulting in a crushing loss for the Pack.
Read more about the Pack’s loss at Northwestern
Read more about NC State’s thrilling match against Harvard
Women’s tennis dominates in season-opener
NC State women’s tennis dominated the USC Gamecocks on Saturday, Jan. 21 on the road. The No. 3 Pack won the contest 6-1, with all but one match wrapping up in just two sets.
In the doubles matches, two new sets of Wolfpack duos defeated their Gamecock opponents. Fifth-year senior Nell Miller and junior Amelia Rajecki won 7-5 and junior Sophie Abrams and graduate student Alana Smith won 6-4.
In the next round, NC State won five of its six singles matches. No. 23 Rajecki, No. 25 Abigail Rencheli and No. 97 Abrams won their matches while No. 13 Smith lost to her ranked Gamecock opponent.
