The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1389905
JULY/AUGUST 2021 ■ 51 Female Breakout Performer Of The Year After being named to the ACC All-Freshman Team in 2019-20, sophomore guard Jakia Brown-Turner elevated her game to the next level this past winter. Brown-Turner improved her scoring average from 9.4 to 13.5 points per contest, earned consensus first-team All-ACC honors and was tabbed as an honorable mention All-Amer- ican. She then joined up with teammate Elissa Cunane to help Team USA win the FIBA Women's AmeriCup. Four times this season, Brown-Turner eclipsed 20 points in a game, including back-to- back contests against Wake Forest and UNC to be named ACC Player of the Week. Her 25 points in the win over the Heels set a new career high. She finished 16th in the ACC for scoring and seventh in field goal percentage (44.2). Sophomore guard Jakia Brown-Turner increased her scoring average from 9.4 to 13.5 points per contest en route to earning consensus first-team All-ACC and honorable mention All-America honors. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS Female Rookie Of The Year Abigail Rencheli was supposed to be a significant addition to the women's tennis program, and she proved to match the hype. The native of Sarasota, Fla., was consid- ered a five-star, blue-chip recruit and was at one point rated as the No. 7 overall player in her class. That talent was on display on the biggest stage, when Rencheli defeated No. 52 Marta Gonzalez of No. 3 Georgia in straight sets in the quarterfinals for the clinching point that advanced NC State to its first-ever Final Four appearance. Rencheli went 16-5 overall during her rookie campaign, including 13-4 in dual- meet action and 9-3 in the ACC, while com- peting at No. 5 and No. 6 singles. She was ranked No. 70 nationally in the final Intercol- legiate Tennis Association singles rankings, plus was No. 61 with senior Lexi Keberle and No. 70 with classmate Amelia Rajecki in the doubles rankings. The Rencheli/Rajecki duo went 13-3 in doubles action and won a crucial point in the win over Georgia. Male Breakout Performer Of The Year Despite leading NC State with 69 tack- les in 2019, redshirt sophomore linebacker Payton Wilson was notably absent from the All-ACC teams following the season. What made his accomplishment that sea- son particularly special was the fact that he had earned just one start in his 11 ap- pearances throughout his redshirt freshman campaign. But Wilson won't be surprising anyone this fall after putting together an elite 2020 season. The 6-4, 235-pounder earned first-team All-ACC honors from both the league and the Associated Press after leading the league with 108 tackles, becoming the first Wolf- pack player to do so since Levar Fisher in 2000. Earning a start in all 10 of his appear- ances, he produced a team-high 11.5 tackles for loss along with 3.5 sacks, six quarter- back hurries, two interceptions and one pass broken up last season. Wilson was draft eligible this spring, but decided to return for a fourth season at NC State in 2021. This offseason, he was named one of the 50 most versatile players in college football by ESPN and is a consen- sus preseason first-team All-ACC selection. Male Game Of The Year NC State baseball entered its three-game series in the Super Regionals against top- ranked Arkansas as heavy underdogs. After losing the opener 21-2, the outlook looked grim for the Wolfpack in Fayetteville, Ark. But the Pack bounced back in game two, claiming a 6-5 victory to force a winner- take-all game three with a trip to the College World Series on the line. All NC State had to do was find a way to beat Arkansas senior pitcher Kevin Kopps, who was later named D1 Baseball's 2021 Player of the Year. Entering the series, Kopps had given up just six runs in 81⅔ innings for an NCAA-leading ERA of 0.68. But the Wolfpack proved to be Kopps's kryptonite. The game was tied 2-2 entering the top of the ninth, and the Razorbacks elected to keep Kopps in the contest. On his 118th