The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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JULY 2015 ■ 129 we just needed their help. We were very for- tunate to come in with those two because they are both hard workers, both at important positions and they have both been good lead- ers for the team." The winning continued. In 2014, the Pack returned to a regional championship game, beating top-ranked Georgia once, but ulti- mately falling to the Bulldogs at the NCAA Athens Regional. This season, behind Davis and Weiman, the Pack returned to the ACC semifinals, where it fell to No. 9 Florida State. At the NCAA Harrisonburg Regional, the Pack beat Fordham twice and host James Madison once to advance to a Super Regional for the first time in school history. Traveling to face top-ranked Oregon for its first chance to advance to the Women's Col- lege World Series was a difficult challenge, but the value of the experience can hardly be measured. "The two of them have been invaluable since we got here," Rychcik says. "We obvi- ously haven't accomplished everything we want to yet, because we want to keep build- ing, keep adding, keep improving. "But they have helped get us on the map, gotten people to talk about our program. We had to have them and some other players who completely bought into what we wanted to do to have the instant success that we've had." Their legacy, for Rychcik, is showing younger players and recruits that NC State's program is one where they can succeed. "If a recruit can see they could hit 65 or 70 home runs here or win 100 games here, they will definitely look at that school," Rychcik said. "They see we have the staff and the peo- ple here to do that. It gets a different level of recruits to look at us. It's our job to land them, sift through them all and find the next Emily or Renada, but they have certainly given our program and our staff a certain credibility. "That's something they have given us be- yond their numbers." During the postseason, both Davis and Weiman were taken in the National Pro Fast- pitch (NPF) College Draft, with Davis going to her home-state Dallas Charge and Weiman going to the Pennsylvania Rebellion. The only other player in the 12-year history of the Wolfpack program taken in the NPF draft was pitcher Abbie Sims in 2007. And while they have immediate futures in softball, both earned their NC State degree, Weiman in sports management and Davis in agriculture science. For both of them, the future, along with the program they helped put on the map, contin- ues to look bright. ■ Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIP ©2014 Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC 14-BR8HO-0007 AL 8/14 F I N A N C I A L G R O U P Proud supporter of NC State Wolfpack Club BLAKE PARO Financial Advisor NCSU Class of 2003 KATHY DUCKWORTH Registered Sales Assistant ALEX MIHAJLOV Branch Manager T 919.861.8212 www.olderaleighfinancial.com GETTING TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER GETTING TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker. You may contact him at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu.