The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/197085
tracking the PACK Quoting The Pack "Mark knows the game, he knows what he's doing. He's going to do a great job there for a long period of time." ■ Former college coach Jim Harrick, who had NCSU head coach Mark Gottfried as an assistant coach at UCLA (The Raleigh News & Observer) ■PACK PEOPLE Kristin Connors, Swimming Connors was named the ACC Female Swimmer of the Week Oct. 8 after her strong performance at the AllNorth Carolina Invitational Oct. 4-5 in Greensboro, N.C. The sophomore from Apex, N.C., took first place in three events, including the individual 500 freestyle and 200 freestyle. She also helped with the winning 400 freestyle relay. Connors is hoping to build off a successful rookie season in which she swam the third- and sixth-fastest times in NCSU history in the 500 free and 200 free, respectively, and broke the school record for a leg in the 800 freestyle relay. photo by ken martin "Talk about versatility: The right guard filled in at right tackle in the opener in place of Tyson Chandler, replaced an injured Rob Crisp at left tackle in the Clemson game and, last year, was the No. 2 center. He has played every offensive line position but left guard so far for the Wolfpack, proving to be an invaluable piece to the unit." — Matt Fortuna on selecting NC State redshirt sophomore lineman Joe Thuney as the Wolfpack's midseason offensive MVP (ESPN.com) "I do this because I always thought the redshirt guys get ignored. It makes them feel like they're a part of something and not like 'they just shelved me for a year.' They have coaches coaching them once a week individually — they're not just looking at a card on the scout team. I really enjoy the one-on-one interaction with each of them as well." — NC State football coach Dave Doeren on having "developmental" practices with the younger players (GoPack.com) "T.J. and I just have a lot more stamina. Between the two of us, I think we lost like [60] pounds. We got a lot lighter and move well, I think it's going to help us a lot during the season." — NCSU fifth-year senior center Jordan Vandenberg on his 40-pound weight loss, and sophomore small forward T.J. Warren, who lost at least 20 (TheWolfpacker.com) "I think competition always makes you better and I think our players are competing. They don't really have any idea who is going to start, how we're going to play and who is gong to play what minutes. That's good for them, it's good for guys to compete like that and I think it's going to help our team." — NC State men's basketball coach Mark Gottfried on the uncertainty of this year's team (TheWolfpacker.com) Braden Holloway, Swimming Coach When the men's swimming team picked up commitments from Danish swimmer Soren Dahl and breaststroker Ben Cono of Suffolk, N.Y., SwimSwam.com, which covers college swimming, noted that "North Carolina State has thrust themselves into the competition for the top men's recruiting class in 2014." Dahl was the second native of Denmark to commit to the Wolfpack. Earlier, Holloway had picked up a pledge from Anton Ipsen, a top long-distance swimmer. The women's class is strong as well, with commitments from Lauren Rhodes, a five-time state champ at Charlotte Catholic, and Yuri Nakano, who won three individual Junior College national titles last year. Tanna Aljoe,Volleyball The sophomore from Grapevine, Texas, transferred into NCSU from San Diego State and has helped ease the loss of last year's star setter Megan Cyr. Through 20 matches, during which NCSU has posted a 15-5 overall record and 6-2 mark in ACC play, Aljoe has a team-high 728 assists and an average of 10.4 assists per set. Aljoe's assist per set average is good enough to rank fifth in the ACC through Oct. 22, and her total number of assists was third best in the league. Grant Saale, Diving In the first meet of his collegiate career, the freshman from Dublin, Ohio, probably could not have scripted a better debut. He took first place at the All-North Carolina Invitational one-meter springboard dive Oct. 5 in Greensboro, N.C., totaling 70 more points than the runner-up. Saale, who was honored as the ACC Male Diver of the Week after his performance, was a high school All-American and two-time USA Junior National Finalist coming out of Dublin Jerome High School. Jackie Stengel, Soccer The freshman had a reputation for being a top goal scorer coming out of Viera High in Melbourne, Fla. She had 36 goals as a senior and was named the Florida Class 4A Player of the Year in 2012. It has not taken long for Stengel to adapt to the ACC level. She had nine goals through 17 games, almost half of the team's 22 total goals in that span. She is already tied for the fifth most goals ever in a season by an NC State freshman. Stengel was tied for fourth in the ACC in goals scored through Oct. 22. Nick Surkamp, Soccer The redshirt junior was the Atlantic Soccer Conference Player of the Year in 2011 when he scored 11 goals and had two assists for Longwood. He sat out last season after transferring to NC State, and through 12 games this year Surkamp was leading the Pack with four goals and nine total points. He is one of the more aggressive forwards in the ACC, averaging 3.4 shots per game, which ranked tied for sixth in the league as of Oct. 22. Surkamp was also 10th in the conference in goals per game at 0.40. 18 ■ the wolfpacker 14-16,18-20.Tracking The Pack.indd 18 10/22/13 12:47 PM