The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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18 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK BASKETBALL'S LENNARD FREEMAN UNDERGOES SURGERY NC State junior center Lennard Freeman underwent successful surgery June 3 to heal a fracture in his lower right leg. Freeman will rehab under the supervision of NC State sports medicine and team doctor personnel. He is expected to resume full basketball activity in mid- September or early October. The 6-8, 245-pound Freeman started 21 games last season for the Wolfpack and led the team with 5.6 re - bounds per game. He also posted 3.6 points per game, shot 44.7 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from the free throw line, and was adept at drawing charges defensively. Freeman arguably had his best game of the season when he recorded his second double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds in NC State's 71-68 win over Villanova March 21. The victory helped the Wolfpack reach the Sweet 16 for the second time in four years in the NCAA Tournament. Freeman replaced fellow sophomore post player Kyle Washington in the starting lineup Feb. 14 against Louisville. NC State pulled off a big 74-65 road upset victory and finished the season with eight wins in its last 11 games. Washington has subsequently transferred. He has officially visited Marquette and Cincinnati, with future trips to Providence and Arizona State in the works. SENIOR POINT GUARD AISLINN KONIG SELECTS NC STATE WOMEN'S HOOPS NC State women's basketball coach Wes Moore has helped the Wolfpack land a player from Canada for the second time in three years. In the class of 2013, NC State signed current sopho- more forward Jennifer Mathurin out of Montreal, Que- bec. The Wolfpack has now earned a verbal commit from 5-10 rising senior point guard Aislinn Konig of Surrey, British Columbia, in the class of 2016. Konig, who is nicknamed Ace, attends Brookswood Secondary, and selected NCSU over Stanford, Wash- ington, Oregon, Louisville, Vanderbilt and Kansas. She officially visited both NC State and Stanford. She has helped Brookswood win the back-to-back provincial Triple A championships, and won her second straight tournament MVP award. She also was named Top Defensive Player for the tourney. Konig averaged 27.6 points and 13.3 assists per game her junior year. ProspectsNation.com ranks the NC State three-girl class of Konig, point guard Kiana "Lucky" Rudd of New Hope Christian in Thomasville, N.C., and power forward Erika Cassell of Atlanta Holy Innocents No. 11 nationally in the class of 2016. Konig wasn't in the top 100 for Prospects Nation, but did receive 4.5 stars, which would have put her in the top 27 of the service's rankings. Bret McCormick of All-Star Girls Report has Konig ranked No. 83 overall in the class of 2016. PITCHER EMILY WEIMAN IS NAMED ACC SOFTBALL SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR NC State ace pitcher Emily Weiman was named the ACC Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year June 23 to cap a terrific senior year. Weiman becomes the first Wolfpack player to garner the award since its establishment in the fall of 2007. The award recognizes the top student-athlete in the ACC in each league-recognized sport, and candidates must have maintained a 3.0 grade-point average for their career as well as a 3.0 for each of the last two semesters. The Pasadena, Md., native finished her academic ca - reer with a 3.818 GPA and was named to the All-ACC Academic Team four consecutive years. Weiman departed NC State as the program re- cord holder in career wins (108), appearances (195), games started (167), complete games (128) and innings pitched (1,084 2 ⁄3). Weiman also owns single-season school records in wins (33), appearances (54), games started (52), com- plete games (42), shutouts (12), innings pitched (323 1 ⁄3) and strikeouts (322). The former Pack pitcher graduated in May with a degree in sport management and is currently playing professional softball for the Pennsylvania Rebellion of the National Pro Fastpitch softball league. Weiman was also nominated for the NCAA Women of the Year award. Nine finalists will be selected in Sep - tember, and the winner announced Oct. 18. Rising senior Lana Van Dyken was also selected to the All-ACC academic team, collecting her second consecutive mention on the team. The Puyallup, Wash., native owns a 3.553 GPA as a biological sciences major. Van Dyken started all 60 games for the Pack last season at third base and recorded a batting average of .302 against conference opponents. NCSU SOFTBALL ASSISTANT HIRED TO COACH ECU NC State softball assistant coach Courtney Oli- ver was named the new head coach at East Carolina June 12. Oliver spent the past three seasons on head coach Shawn Rychcik's NC State staff as the pitching coach, and she also worked with the infielders. Under her leadership, pitcher Emily Weiman became the first 100- game winner in program history and was also the first Wolfpack pitcher to be named ACC Pitcher of the Year. "I'm excited and happy for Courtney to have the op - portunity to be a head coach," Rychcik said. "Obviously, we're sad to see her go and she will be greatly missed, but I think she's ready for her first head coaching job and will do great things at ECU. I want to thank her for all of her contributions to our program and wish her the best in the future." NC State finished 38-22 this season, and was ranked No. 19 in the country by both the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and USA Softball/ESPN.com. The top-25 finish was the first in the program's history. FORMER WOLFPACK RUNNER RYAN HILL WINS NATIONAL TITLE Former NC State star distance runner Ryan Hill captured the 5,000-meter title at the USA Track & Field Championship June 28 in Eugene, Ore. Hill clocked 13 minutes, 50.69 seconds to edge Ben True and Galen Rupp. Hill had the a strong kick of 54.59 seconds over the last 400 meters to roll to vic - tory and pass Rupp, who had won the 10,000-meter race June 25. Hill, Rupp and possibly True will represent the U.S. in the IAAF World Championships, Aug. 22-30, in Beijing, China. Hill grew up in Hickory, N.C., and is now part of the Portland-based Bowerman Track Club. "I felt really good," Hill told OregonLive.com. "When you're in the last lap and things are coming naturally, you feel really good. I had a good feeling I would be top three. "I didn't think I'd win until I came off the final turn." Hill had a decorated career at NC State from 2008-13 under head coach Rollie Geiger. He amassed 10 All-America honors in college, and was a seven-time ACC champion. He holds NC State school records in the mile, 1,500, 3,000 and 5,000. Hill finished second in the mile at the 2013 NCAA Indoor Championships, and was third in the 5,000 at the USA Championships during the outdoor portion later that spring. He also finished third in the 1,500 at the 2012 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Hill was named the 2013 ACC Men's Track Per - former of the Year and was a 2012 U.S. Olympic trial qualifier. ■ Red And White Notebook Junior center Lennard Freeman, who started 21 games and led the Pack with 5.6 rebounds per game last season, had surgery on his lower right leg in early June. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN