The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1436409
TRACKING THE PACK 18 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY THE NUMBERS Sponsored by Colony Tire & Service www.colonytire.com 5 Straight years the women's soccer team has reached at least the second round of the NCAA Championships. The Wolf- pack played 12 teams that were ranked in the top 25 or receiving votes, includ- ing six top-10 foes, and finished 9-9-2. Prior to reaching NCAAs in 2016 under head coach Tim Santoro, the Pack had not qualified for the postseason in 20 years. Even when the program reached eight consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 1985-92 — going all the way to the title contest in 1988 — it never won at least one contest in the na- tional tournament for five straight campaigns. It was also revealed Dec. 3 that two key compo- nents to the squad's success — defenders Jenna Butler and Lulu Guttenberger — would return for their extra year of eligibility in 2022. Butler was a third-team All-Atlantic Region selection in 2021 and has started all 66 games in her career, while Guttenberger is a three-time All-ACC pick and team captain who has started all 75 of her collegiate ap- pearances. "They're two of our best players and, to me, they're as good as any defensive tandem in the ACC and the country," Santoro told GoPack.com. 39 Points and 18 rebounds posted by redshirt sophomore guard DEREON SEABRON in a 104-100 win for NC State over Nebraska in this year's ACC-Big Ten Challenge contest Dec. 1 in Raleigh. Seabron got plenty of extra time to work — it was just the fifth four-overtime game in the ACC's 68-year existence — and played 57 of a possible 60 minutes, setting career highs in all three aforementioned categories. He made half of his shots from the field (11 of 22) and went 17 of 20 from the free throw line, the third-most makes from the charity stripe in program history. Perhaps most impressively, 33 of his points came in the second half and overtimes. It was the highest point total for a Wolfpacker since T.J. Warren notched 42 in a March 2014 contest against Boston College, and the most ever in the 23-year history of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS 85.1 Was DEVIN LEARY'S Pro Football Focus (PFF) passing grade in the regular season, which ranked 18th nationally among Power Five starting quarterbacks. His impressive numbers went beyond just the 35 touchdown throws and 3,435 passing yards — he had only nine turnover-worthy plays (PFF dings a quarterback for fumbles or picks dropped by the defense) for a rate of 1.8 percent, which was seventh- best nationally. The redshirt sophomore was also one of the best in the country throwing downfield — he finished 19th among Power Five starters in deep passing (passes that traveled over 20 yards) with a 93.8 PFF mark, and his 1,110 yards on deep throws ranked ninth. His overall adjusted completion percentage (which eliminates throwaways, drops and other non-missed throws) was 55.4 percent, tied for 10th in the land. With a continued program emphasis on hit- ting the long ball, it's no surprise that home runs are something this group loves to do in the box. This class of hitters has all been recruited under our 'Home Run Mindset,' so they've already been playing high school and travel ball with the expectation that every time they step into the batter's box they are going to hit it out of the park. "From the pitching side, we also feel that we've hit it out of the park with the arms that are coming in. — Softball head coach JENNIFER PATRICK-SWIFT on the class she signed this fall and will debut during the 2023 spring season for the Wolfpack. It was ranked fourth nationally by Extra In- ning Softball and featured six members of the outlet's Extra Elite 100, headlined by No. 10 overall Amanda Hasler, a catcher from Avon, Conn. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN