NC State Athletics had another exciting and successful week of competition, with the exception of losses suffered by the gymnastics, tennis and swimming squads—but even with some undesirable outcomes, there were still plenty of bright spots that gave NC State fans a reason to be proud.
Women’s basketball tallies another win over a ranked opponent
NC State women’s basketball defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sunday, Jan. 29 in Reynolds Coliseum. The 69-65 victory over the No. 7 team in the nation and the best team in the ACC was a huge step in the right direction for the Pack, as it’s still trying to claw its way back up to the top of the ACC standings in order to put itself in a good position for the postseason.
Junior guard Diamond Johnson led the Wolfpack with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Graduate forward Mimi Collins added 13 for an NC State offense that arguably played its best game of the season on Sunday.
Read more about the Pack’s win over Notre Dame
Track and field exceeds expectations at Bob Pollock Meet
NC State track and field traveled to compete in the Bob Pollock Meet in Clemson, South Carolina on Friday, Jan. 27 and Saturday, Jan. 28. The Pack exceeded expectations across the board as many athletes set personal bests and some even managed to move up in the NC State record books as well as their current national rank.
Namely, junior Makayla Hart threw 18.13m in the weight throw and 13.94m in the shot put. Both marks rank seventh in NC State history. On the men’s side, senior Josh Brockman stole the show with his time of 7.69 in the 60m hurdle prelims. He now ranks second in Wolfpack history and is currently tied for third in the nation.
Read more about the Pack’s outstanding performance at the Bob Pollock Meet
Gymnastics falls to Auburn
NC State gymnastics competed in its second road meet of the season on Friday, Jan. 27 against the Auburn Tigers. The No. 20 Pack lost the contest 197.175-196.125 to No. 5 Auburn. Despite strong performances from the Pack’s gymnasts, the Tigers bested the Wolfpack in every event.
The red-and-white’s best performance of the night came from senior Chloe Negrete, who posted her second consecutive 9.900 on the beam, earning her a piece of a four-way tie for first place. The beam was NC State’s strongest event of the night, with the team posting a score of 49.075.
Read more about the Pack’s meet at Auburn
Wrestling dominates Duke
NC State wrestling rebounded in a big way from last week’s loss to Virginia Tech by defeating the Duke Blue Devils at home, 46-3. The No. 8 Pack recorded four pins in its ACC home opener.
Both redshirt junior Jarrett Trombley and sophomore Ed Scott pinned their opponents in the first period and only four Blue Devil athletes made it to the end of their bouts. Senior Tyrie Houghton suffered the red-and-white’s only loss of the night, falling to No. 22 Jonah Niesenbaum. This match marked the highest point total for the Wolfpack this season.
Read more about the Pack’s dominant win over the Blue Devils
Swim and dive closes out regular season
NC State swim and dive was busy this past weekend, hosting UNC-Wilmington on Friday, Jan. 27 before traveling to Austin, Texas for a much more heated competition against the Texas Longhorns.
Both the No. 4 Wolfpack women and the No. 4 men had no trouble defeating the Seahawks in the Pack’s last home meet of the season. On the women’s side, senior Elle Giesler and sophomores Kaylee Hamblin and Lindsey Immel each captured two individual wins. Their performance was matched on the men’s side as seniors Zachary Cram and Markus Wennborg and juniors Michael Moore and Austin Winchester claimed two individual wins apiece.
The Longhorns posed a much greater challenge for the red-and-white. Both the men’s and women’s teams fell to Texas by scores of 178-156 and 217-115, respectively. Despite the losses, both NC State squads dominated in the relay events. The women clocked a time of 1:33.49 in the 200-yard medley relay, which was the fastest time in the nation this season. The men’s team won the 200-yard freestyle and 400-yard medley relays.
Read more about the Pack’s performance against Texas and UNCW
Men’s basketball bounces back from loss at UNC
NC State men’s basketball won both of its games this week, defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Tuesday, Jan. 24 and taking down the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem on Saturday, Jan. 28. These wins were two major steps forward in the ACC for the Pack.
Wolfpack fans were relieved to see sophomore guard Terquavion Smith return to the hardwood against the Fighting Irish after getting stretchered off the court in the previous game. Smith scored 17 points but was outshined by graduate guard Jarkel Joiner, who scored 28. The red-and-white managed to slip past Notre Dame, 85-82.
On Saturday, NC State played another close game at Wake Forest, scraping by with a 79-77 victory. The two teams battled back and forth for the majority of the contest but graduate forward DJ Burns stepped up his game in the second half to bring it home for the Wolfpack. After scoring just eight points in the first half, Burns notched 23 in the second to total a career-high 31 points and secure the win.
Read more about the Pack’s defeat of Notre Dame
Read more about NC State’s win at Wake Forest
Men’s tennis splits two matches
NC State men’s tennis traveled to Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday, Jan. 28 and Sunday, Jan. 29 to compete in the ITA Kickoff Weekend, and came away with some mixed results.
On Saturday, the Pack faced off against the VCU Rams. The red-and-white coasted through the match and pulled out a 4-0 victory. Sunday’s match was a different story: despite the Wolfpack’s best efforts, the team got a taste of its own medicine in a 4-0 loss to the No. 8 South Carolina Gamecocks.
Read more about the Pack’s sweep against VCU
Read more about NC State’s loss to the Gamecocks
Women’s tennis hosts ITA Kickoff Weekend
NC State women’s tennis also split its two matches on Saturday, Jan. 28 and Sunday, Jan. 29. The No. 3 Pack’s first match was against Illinois, where it swept the Fighting Illini 4-0 in its 2023 home opener. Saturday’s match did not go as smoothly for the red-and-white. The team suffered a close 4-3 loss to the No. 21 Vanderbilt Commodores, causing NC State to miss out on the chance to compete at the ITA Indoor Championships.
