The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1534227
TRACKING THE PACK MAY/JUNE 2025 ■ 15 PACK PERFORMERS Chris McHugh, Baseball McHugh has shined in his first season at NC State after transferring from Virginia Com- monwealth. Through the Wolfpack's first 32 games, he was leading the team in multiple offensive categories, including batting aver- age (.348), base hits (40) and RBI (36), and he also was tied for the team lead in home runs (6). A sophomore infielder from Commack, N.Y., McHugh began his NC State career by going 4-for-5 with a home run in the season- opening doubleheader against Fordham on Feb. 14. He had 4 hits in the Pack's 12-11 victory over Canisius on March 1 and 3 hits in a 9-2 romp over Virginia on April 5. Chloe Negrete, Gymnastics Negrete wrapped up a marvelous collegiate career by posting a team-high score of 9.900 on the balance beam to help NC State finish in third place at the NCAA Championships' Tuscaloosa Regional on April 4. The graduate student from Frisco, Texas, won ACC Special- ist of the Week honors four times during her final season with the Wolfpack. Named a Regular Season All- American by the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association — the first NC State gymnast in a decade to be so recognized — she was the Pack's leader with 24 podium finishes and 13 individual wins this year. Negrete finished her career as a 14-time all-conference honoree. Braden Shick, Men's Tennis Shick is the highest-ranked player on a Wolf- pack team that has surged into the top five, placing 29th nationally in singles and seventh in doubles with partner Fons Van Sambeek. Prior to the Pack's meeting with No. 1 Wake Forest on April 12, the senior from Greens- boro, N.C., had compiled a 19-12 record in singles competition, including a 5-3 ACC mark and an 11-8 record versus ranked foes. He and Van Sambeek had teamed up to go 18-5 in doubles play, including a 7-2 league record. Shick and Van Sambeek had gone 6-3 against ranked opponents during that span, helping NC State rise to No. 4 in the team rankings, best in program history. Chase Travis, Women's Swimming In her final race as an NC State swimmer, Travis turned in the second-fastest 1,650-yard freestyle time in program history. The graduate student from Newark, Del., finished in 15:52.06 to place eighth at the NCAA Championships on March 22. In the process, she earned All-America honors for the second time in her career. Travis had previously been an honorable mention All-American in 2022 when she finished 14th in the mile with a time of 16:05.09. Travis also swam the fourth-fastest 500-yard freestyle in program history during this year's NCAA meet, finishing in 4:39.41 in the prelims. Her performance helped the Wolfpack place 10th in the team standings. — Matt Herb Men's Tennis Team On The Rise NC State men's tennis coach Kyle Spencer expected to have a quality team that could earn top-25 wins on a consistent basis this season. But when 21st-ranked Harvard arrived in Raleigh on Jan. 21 for the Wolfpack's first ranked match of the season, the Crimson took the doubles point and four of the six singles matches. It wasn't what NC State, ranked 22nd at the time, was expecting to happen, but the 5-2 loss proved to be a turning point. After that defeat, the Wolfpack brought a new swagger onto the court. Prior to its showdown with top-ranked Wake Forest on April 12 at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center, NC State was 20-4 overall, with six top-25 victories, a 13-match winning streak, and a No. 4 national ranking — the highest in program history. Looking back, Spencer said the loss to Harvard taught the team a valuable lesson about how to manage the emotional aspect of each highly ranked battle on the hard courts. "With a long season, you're not always going to play well," Spencer said. "We haven't necessarily played well in every single match, but we've definitely brought that aspect to every match. That's given us a big boost when we haven't played our best tennis." NC State's path toward the top of D-I tennis began at the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Starkville, Miss., in late January, with 4-1 wins over LSU and No. 9 Mississippi State. The Pack followed that showing with a win at No. 17 Michigan, and it eventually beat No. 8 Kentucky in its opening match of the ITA National Team Indoors in Dallas. NC State fell to then-No. 2 Wake Forest and No. 5 Virginia to conclude its mid- February visit to the Lone Star State, but it hasn't lost a match since. The Wolfpack signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the 2021 cycle, and those players have shined this year. Senior Braden Shick, who was one of the main prospects in that group, has worked his way to No. 29 in the nation at 19-12 overall, while classmate Luca Staeheli is up to No. 74 at 17-6. Junior Martin Borisiouk, meanwhile, has emerged as the Wolfpack's second-court player and is ranked No. 37 with a 15-7 record. NC State's recruiting prowess has resulted in a higher floor for its players, who are entering a program that prides itself on developing talent. "I think what you're seeing is, the starting level of those players coming in has gotten higher and higher each year, but the development part has stayed the bedrock of what we do," Spencer said. "Now, it's not taking as long for some of the newer players to come in and be able to play at a high level. "The players, as they go through the program, are continuing to improve and reach higher and higher levels of individual play. That, to me, is a massive difference." Spencer beamed when talking about the depth of his roster this season. He has been able to build the program into a spot where every court is competitive in any given match. That has led to the top players being pushed by their teammates. With the postseason looming, NC State is determined to build on its recent success. The team was 12-0 in ACC play heading into the regular-season finale against the Demon Deacons and was ea- ger for the next set of challenges. "There's been a commitment by our guys to put out performances that they can be proud of as a group," Spencer said. "It's been rewarding, because we knew we'd have a good team this year. But at the same time, it feels like we have such a long way to go." — Noah Fleischman A member of NC State's top-ranked 2021 recruiting class, Luca Staeheli has excelled for the Wolfpack as a senior, compiling a 17-6 singles record. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS