The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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MARCH 2016 ■ 67 NCAA regional for the first time in seven years. Still, the team left New Haven disap- pointed. "What I told the guys after it was over was if you don't like the way this feels, then don't let it happen again," Sykes said. "That's the best way I could put it. No one tried to lose a stroke on the last day. Everybody missed a putt or two on the last three holes. "Everybody contributed to both getting us in position to advance and getting us out of position to advance." What the Hall of Fame mentor, who is entering his 45th season as head coach of the Wolfpack, did take from the experi- ence, however, was great optimism for the 2015-16 season. He has two accomplished seniors, Page and David Cooke, to lead the team, along with three experienced juniors in Stanhope Johnson, Jacob McBride and Chad Cox, who redshirted last season. More importantly for Sykes, the Pack has four talented freshmen that immedi- ately began pushing the veterans for play- ing time in the fall. Two of those freshmen — Stephen Franken of Raleigh and Davis Richards of China Grove, N.C. — had the lowest stroke averages in the fall and were in the starting lineup in the spring-opening Puerto Rico Classic from Feb. 21-23. Also joining the program in the fall were Nolan Mills Jr. — son of former Wolfpack All- American and 1983 ACC individual cham- pion Nolan Mills Sr. — of Charlotte and Justin Hood of St. Matthews, S.C. "Our team kept getting better and bet- ter all last year, and I felt good about that, especially since we had four returnees, plus Chad Cox who redshirted," Sykes said. "But surprise, we then had four freshmen who showed up and said they wanted to Creedmoor Road Stonehenge Drive Sawmill Road Halstead Lane ( 919 ) 841-9586 raleighstrengthandfitness.com 7209 Creedmoor Road Suite 109 Raleigh, NC 27613 ■ By The Numbers 0.4 The difference in stroke average between freshmen Stephen Franken (71.5) and Davis Richards (71.9), the top two averages in the fall. As a group, the Wolfpack's four freshmen averaged 72.7 strokes per round, which was second only to Florida's rookies. 32 NC State's national ranking, according to the preseason GolfStat poll, which determines postseason qualifiers. In the fall, the Pack posted a 61- 10-1 record against all competition. 3rd The lowest finish the Wolfpack had in the final four fall tournaments. State was sec- ond of 15, second of 16, third of 15 and third of 19. In a strong field in Hawaii, the Pack finished third of 19 teams. 88 The number of times in program history that an NC State golfer has won individual medal- ist honors, following David Cooke's win at last year's Wolfpack Spring Open at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course.