The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1502339
TRACKING THE PACK 18 ■ THE WOLFPACKER NC State Softball Program Hires New Head Coach The fourth head coach in NC State softball history will be Lindsay Leftwich. She has spent the past 12 years as an assistant coach for Beth Torina at LSU, one of the powerhouse programs in the SEC. During her time in Baton Rouge, the Tigers reached the Wom- en's College World Series four times and twice made the finals. LSU reached the Super Regionals an additional three times. "Coach Leftwich is ready to build a program of her own, and I can't wait to watch her do that for the Wolfpack," NC State athletics director Boo Corrigan said. "She has been an integral part of very successful teams, and that experience will serve her well as a head coach. She's also a great fit for our culture at NC State with her energy and enthusiasm." Leftwich said she was eager to take the reins of the Wolfpack program. "It will be my joy to 'Strengthen the Pack' each day by coaching unbelievable amounts of belief into each player, while also influencing the Raleigh community in positive ways," she said. Prior to LSU, Leftwich was an assistant for Torina at Florida International. She also made stops at Wichita State as a pitch- ing coach in 2006 and New Mexico as director of operations a year later. She was an all-conference performer at Northwest- ern State in college. Leftwich moved quickly to fill out her staff, hiring Paige Cassady to work primarily with the pitchers and Mike Bosch to handle the defense, analytics and player development. Cassady pitched for Leftwich at FIU. She spent last year as a pitching coach at Texas Tech and previously served eight years in a similar capacity at Liberty. Bosch is a former head coach at Syracuse who most recently was an assistant at Florida. Women's Basketball Adds Two Transfers Two transfers have joined head coach Wes Moore's program. Rising junior wing Katie Peneueta is a 6-foot-2 sharp- shooter who began her career at Sacramento State. She aver- aged 8.5 points and 5.4 rebounds over two seasons, shooting an impressive 45.8 percent on threes by making 127 of 276 attempts from beyond the arc. The native of Vancouver, Wash., was sixth nationally among qualified shooters in three-point percentage, making 45.5 percent (71 of 156). NC State also added 6-foot-5 center Lizzy Williamson, who was the Western Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year last season for Southern Utah. The Adelaide, Australia, native averaged 9.6 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. She will have two seasons of eligibility if she elects to use her bonus year provided by the NCAA. Basketball Teams Announce Nonconference Games NC State confirmed that the men's basketball team will travel to San Antonio on Dec. 16 to face Tennessee. The Vol- unteers reached the Sweet 16 last season and finished 25-11 overall. ESPN.com's way-too-early top 25 has the Vols ranked No. 5 nationally. The Pack previously announced that it will join Arizona State, BYU and Vanderbilt in Las Vegas for the Vegas Show- down Nov. 23 and 24. The Sun Devils were at-large partici- pants in the NCAA Tournament last year, while Vandy reached the NIT semifinals. BYU went 19-15 and is returning two of its top three scorers as it enters its first year in the Big 12. NC State will also presumably participate in the inaugural ACC/SEC challenge, but matchups have yet to be announced. The women's team will face Kentucky Nov. 23, followed by Cincinnati and Colorado in ensuing days as part of the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam on St. Thomas. Colorado reached the Sweet 16 last season. The Pack women are also set to host national power Con- necticut in a previously announced game. — Matt Carter ■ RED AND WHITE NOTEBOOK Lindsay Leftwich comes to Raleigh after spending the past 12 seasons as an assistant coach at LSU. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS VIA TWITTER