The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/759726
20 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK "Sometimes when you're in the storm, you come out of the storm and the sun shines again. I feel like I've got my feet back on the ground now and I'm ready to go." ■ NC State men's basketball coach Mark Gottfried on being positive (Raleigh News & Observer) "We got one guy wearing a blue sock, and one guy wearing a green sock. I'm trying to guard it one way, and you are trying to guard it another way." — Gottfried on the Wolfpack improving its defense (TheWolfpacker.com) "People don't understand how good [freshman center] Omer [Yurtseven] is. He's that good. He's the smartest player I've ever played with. He and [sophomore small forward] Maverick [Rowan] will help space the floor a lot. When they come back, there's no way they can guard us like they have." — NC State freshman point guard Dennis Smith Jr. on having a full team starting Dec. 15 when Yurtseven is eligible (ESPN.com) "I know what my head coach stands for, and I know what he is all about. All the losses that we had, you can't put it on him. You hear about it, but it doesn't affect how we play." — NC State redshirt junior free safety Josh Jones on the pride felt for head coach Dave Doeren and the program after defeating North Carolina 28-21 on Nov. 25 (TheWolfpacker.com) "[NCSU offensive coordinator] Coach [Eli] Drinkwitz told me that it was going to be the fifth play of the game, so I knew it was coming early. I knew I could be the spark of the game. They weren't expecting me to throw the ball." — NC State junior tight end/fullback Jaylen Samuels on his memorable 59-yard touchdown pass to red- shirt sophomore wide receiver Stephen Louis off a trick play for the first touchdown in the 28-21 win over North Carolina on Nov. 25 (Technician) "He's more interested in winning and being a team player than he is in himself. That's what separates him in my opinion. He's so unselfish." — NC State senior center Joe Scelfo on star senior running back Matthew Dayes (Raleigh News & Observer) "We were the best team on the field today, everybody knows that. I'm proud of the girls. We had a great year. We were hoping to take the next step for the program, and we took an even bigger step than we thought we could do. The girls were mag- nificent, even with the injuries we had and losing players along the way. I couldn't be more proud of the group as I am right now." — NC State women's soccer coach Tim Santoro after falling 3-0 to Santa Clara in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tourna- ment (GoPack.com) PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN QUOTING THE PACK Julius Duchscherer, Men's Soccer The sophomore midfielder from Hadamar, Germany, ex- celled on the field and perhaps even more so off it. He has a 4.00 grade point aver- age in his business administration major and was selected second-team Academic All-America by the College Sports In- formation Directors of America. He led the Pack with nine goals in the fall and was named second-team All-ACC. The highlight of his season was a viral game-winning goal at No. 21 UNC Wilmington that was viewed almost 135,000 times online. Anton Ipsen, Men's Swimming The Wolfpack was ranked No. 1 in the country in men's swimming, and the junior distance swim- mer from Birkerod, Denmark — who competed in the Summer Olympics in Rio — is a major reason why. He was named ACC Male Swimmer of the Week after the season-opening meet over Wis- consin Oct. 21-22, and he swept the 500 and 1,000 free in a dual-meet road vic- tory over two-time defending national champion Texas Nov. 4. Ipsen finished fifth at the NCAA Championships in the 1,650 free and seventh in the 500 free as a sophomore. Tziarra King, Women's Soccer The women's soccer program broke a 20-year NCAA Tournament drought and made a splash by advancing to the Sweet 16, and the freshman midfielder was a major reason behind the breakthrough. The Sickler- ville, N.J., native led NC State with eight goals and was named third-team All-ACC, All-ACC Freshman Team and National Soccer Coaches Association of America Southeast All-Region. King and freshman defender Kristina Schuster were the first all-region picks for NCSU since 2006. Another Pack rookie, midfielder Kia Rankin, joined King on the league's All-Freshman squad. Hannah Moore, Women's Swimming The junior distance specialist from Cary, N.C., has enjoyed a strong fall and winter. She finished in the top six three times at the AT&T Winter National Championship in Atlanta Dec. 1-3. Moore started the season with a bang, collecting CollegeSwimming.com's National Female Swimmer of the Week honor following the season-opening win over visiting Wisconsin Oct. 21-22. The ACC tabbed her the conference's Female Swimmer of the Week after she won three races at Texas Nov. 4. Sam Speno, Wrestling The fifth-year senior from Mount Kisco, N.Y., was a two- time NCAA qualifier and probably headed to a third had he not picked up mononucleosis during his junior season. Speno redshirted last year and is off to a strong start in his return to the lineup. Wrestling at 149 pounds, Speno defeated No. 15 Matt Zovistoski of Appalachian State by a major decision, 19-7, Nov. 30. Then at the Journeyman Tussle Dec. 3 in Troy, N.Y., Speno went 3-0, including a 9-1 decision over No. 9 Ken Theobald from Rutgers. ■ PACK PERFORMERS