Following winter break, NC State students will be flocking back to campus this week for the spring semester. And as the new semester begins, NC State athletics will be firing on all cylinders as some teams continue their hard work from the winter and others look to begin their season.
From baseball to wrestling, here’s a list of key matchups this spring that will bring surefire entertainment.
Baseball vs. Virginia
From March 16-18, NC State welcomes Virginia to Doak Field for the Pack’s first taste of ACC play at home. In the NCAA’s 2023 preseason rankings, Virginia ranks 16th in the nation while NC State clocks in at 30th.
Despite being in the same conference, this will be their first meeting since the shortened 2020 season where the Cavs got the best of the Wolfpack in a three-game series, winning 2-1. However, in three years’ time, each of these teams look very different from when they last played, so anything can happen considering NC State’s underdog status.
The Pack will look to its pitchers to lead them through this series and this season. Junior pitcher Sam Highfill missed the majority of last season with an injury, so his presence will be crucial if the Pack wants to win its series against Virginia.
Men’s basketball vs. Duke
On Feb. 28, the NC State men’s basketball team heads to Cameron Indoor Stadium to attempt to win its second game of the season against Duke. The last time NC State was able to sweep the season series against Duke was during the 1994-95 season.
NC State beat Duke 84-60 on Jan. 4 while holding the lead for the entire game; a welcomed surprise to many NC State fans. The Wolfpack relied on sophomore guard Terquavion Smith, graduate guard Jarkel Joiner and graduate forward DJ Burns, who combined for 63 of NC State’s 84 points. In a challenging environment, NC State will have to rely on these three key players if it wants to beat Duke for the second time this season.
Sweeping the season series against Duke will be a major turning point in this era of NC State basketball led by head coach Kevin Keatts. Just last year, NC State finished dead last in the ACC, and many wanted to see Keatts vacate his position. However, a win at Duke might just cement Keatts’ status as a winner.
Men’s and women’s swim and dive vs. UNC and Virginia
Since the 2018-19 season, both the NC State men’s and women’s swim and dive teams have yet to finish outside the top-5 ranked teams in the nation; however, a national championship has proven to be elusive for the Wolfpack.
For the past two years, the Virginia women’s swim and dive team has won the NCAA championship, and so far through the 2022-23 season, the Cavaliers are still on top as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation. NC State’s women’s squad isn’t too far behind at No. 4 in the country. The UNC women’s swim and dive team is also very competitive; ranked No. 17 in the country.
As for the men’s teams, NC State is ranked No. 5 while Virginia is ranked slightly lower at No. 11.
Women’s basketball vs. Virginia Tech
Every year the women’s basketball team honors the late Kay Yow, former head coach of the team, in the Play4Kay game. NC State will don its pink uniforms and bring awareness to help boost the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
In this year’s Play4Kay game, No. 10 NC State takes on No. 9 Virginia Tech on Feb. 6 at Reynolds Coliseum in a high-ranked ACC showdown. The Wolfpack has struggled to find its footing and has lost two of four conference games this year. Whereas last season, the red-and-white only lost one out of 18 conference games, so rebounding on this special occasion will be a great opportunity for NC State.
Wrestling at the ACC Championships
On March 5, NC State will host the ACC Championships for wrestling at Reynolds Coliseum where the Pack will aim to win its fifth ACC title in a row. NC State has five returning wrestlers who made it to the finals of its weight class that are looking to either defend its title or get revenge, so expect an electric environment inside Reynolds.
Women’s tennis vs. Texas
On April 10, NC State will host the Texas Longhorns, the No. 1 ranked women’s tennis team in the nation. The NC State women’s team comes just behind the Longhorns in the preseason rankings ranked at No. 3 in the country. Last season, the Wolfpack was able to just edge out the Longhorns 4-3, even without its highest-rated singles player graduate student Alana Smith. NC State will rely on Smith and fifth-year senior Nell Miller, who was one-half of the Wolfpack’s NCAA Doubles Championship pair last season, if it’s to beat Texas this spring.
Softball vs. Clemson
From April 14-16, NC State will host the Clemson Tigers for a three-game series at Dail Softball Stadium. These two teams last faced off in the 2021 season where Clemson swept NC State in a four-game doubleheader, all while holding the Wolfpack to just three runs in each of the four games.
The Wolfpack lost a significant amount of upperclassmen last season and will have almost double the amount of freshmen as it did the season prior. This will likely be a tough game for a young team, but winnable nonetheless.
Men’s tennis vs. Wake Forest
On April 12, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons will make the commute to Raleigh to take on the Wolfpack in an ACC showdown. NC State looks to avenge its loss to Wake Forest last season when it fell to the Demon Deacons 2-5. At the time Wake Forest was ranked No. 6 in the country, but after losing a majority of its top-six singles and doubles players, the Demon Deacons have dropped to No. 14 while NC State sits behind them at No. 19.
For the Wolfpack, fifth-year senior Rafa Izquierdo Luque leads the way as the highest-rated singles player and is part of NC State’s highest-rated doubles pair at No. 21 in the country. The Pack looks to capitalize on an inexperienced Wake Forest team in this exciting spring matchup at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
