The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1523120
44 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY NOAH FLEISCHMAN AND ETHAN MCDOWELL C State caught a lot of people off-guard this past year. Some Wolfpack teams began turning heads at the beginning of the sea- son (women's basketball), others waited until the end (men's basketball, baseball). One team went into its season with the highest of expectations (women's cross country) yet still put together a stunning perfor- mance at nationals, overcoming injury and illness to capture its third consecu- tive NCAA crown. With those efforts in mind, here's a look at some of the highlights of NC State's 2023-24 athletic year: Best Male Rookie In the decisive Game 3 of the Athens Super Regional, Wolfpack coach Elliott Avent turned to freshman reliever Jacob Dudan to pitch to Georgia star Charlie Condon with the bases loaded. For most opponents, facing Condon had been a nightmare. But not for Du- dan, an ACC All-Freshman Team se- lection. He struck Condon out on four pitches — three sliders and a fastball up and away — to escape a jam against the eventual Golden Spikes Award winner. Dudan finished the season as the Wolfpack's most-used pitcher, with 27 appearances from the bullpen. He logged a 4-2 record with 56 strikeouts and 6 saves in 48 innings. He was second on the team in saves, with 3 coming against ACC competition. The Huntersville, N.C., native was arguably NC State's most consistent reliever and was a key part of its deep postseason run. Best Female Rookie Maddy Zampardo emerged as an in- stant-impact contributor for NC State women's tennis during the 2023-24 sea- son. She was named second-team All-ACC in doubles and also debuted in the NCAA Individual Championships. The former No. 9 recruit in the class of 2023, Zam- pardo was the fourth blue-chip signee in program history. During her freshman season, the De- troit native compiled a 34-10 doubles record alongside partner Amelia Ra- jecki. Zampardo and Rajecki finished the year with seven wins in their final eight matches, including a 6-3 triumph over No. 2 Stanford. Her doubles win total led the Wolfpack. Zampardo also finished the season with a 31-12 mark in singles play— the second-most victories on the team. Best Male Team Performance Going into the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament in Washington, D.C., NC State appeared to have an improbable path to the NCAA tourney. The 10th- seeded Wolfpack would need to win five games in as many days to claim the league title. Anything less, and the Pack was likely going to miss the NCAA Tour- nament for the second time in three sea- sons. But NC State didn't give in — even though it trailed Louisville by 12 in the first 10 minutes of its opening game of the league tournament. The Wolfpack surged back to beat the Cardinals, 94-85, and that effort seemed to foreshadow the rest of NC State's play in the nation's capital. N 2023-24 YEAR IN REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR SURPRISE PARTY NC State's Resilience Produced Some Stunning Results In 2023-24 In his final season at NC State, forward DJ Burns Jr. finished second on the team in scoring at 12.9 points per game. He was never better than in a 29-point scoring binge against Duke in the Elite Eight. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS