The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/790572
MARCH 2017 ■ 23 TRACKING THE PACK WOLFPACK 12TH IN DIRECTOR'S CUP FALL STANDINGS The NC State athletics department is off to its best start in the Learfield Di- rectors' Cup, in terms of the all-sports competition's final fall standings. In the Jan. 12 release, the Wolfpack ranked 12th nationally, which checked in third among ACC schools (trailing No. 3 North Caro- lina and No. 11 Virginia). The Pack's scoring squads included women's cross country, which placed fourth nationally; women's soccer, which reached the Sweet 16 and was given points for a ninth-place finish; men's cross country, which placed 22nd at the NCAA Championships; and football, which won its bowl game but did not finish ranked in the top 25, so it received the points desig- nated for a tie for 26th place. The Pack placed an all-time high of 27th in the 2014-15 school year; interest- ingly it did not get off to a strong start that season, checking in at No. 42 in the final fall standings. Last year, it was 35th at the end of the fall and finished 32nd, which tied for the second-best finish in school history for the award that began in the 1993-94 school year. A rundown of the Pack's top-25 show- ings at the end of the fall and how those years finished: FINAL FALL FINAL NATIONAL YEAR STANDING RANK 2016-17 12 ? 1995-96 13 34 1996-97 17 57 2001-02 18 46 1994-95 18 32 2003-04 25 39 DENNIS SMITH JR. IN RUNNING FOR SEVERAL NATIONAL AWARDS Although the season hasn't gone as planned for NC State basketball, it's safe to say that freshman point guard Den- nis Smith Jr. has lived up to his billing as a five-star recruit. The Fayetteville, N.C., native averages a team-high 18.9 points per game over the first 29 contests through Feb. 24, in addition to 6.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. He ranks sixth in the ACC in scoring, first in assists and second in steals. Smith also became the first player in league history to post a pair of triple- doubles against ACC competition in the same season — and NC State entered the season with just one triple-double in its history (Julius Hodge in 2002). Smith is just the fourth ACC player to post a pair of triple-doubles in the same campaign, while he is the only one in the country with multiple such performances this year. For his efforts, Smith was one of 12 players named to the midseason watch list for the Wayman Tisdale Award (na- tional freshman of the year), is one of 10 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award (best point guard in the country) and is one of 30 listed among the midseason list for the Naismith Trophy (most outstanding player). The ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year is a good bet to nab that honor, along with all-conference laurels, after being named the league's Freshman of the Week three times. WRESTLING BEATS MICHIGAN IN NATIONAL DUALS For the second straight year, the NC State wrestling team made a national statement by winning its "bowl matchup" in the NWCA National Duals Feb. 17. The No. 8 Wolfpack lost the first three matches to No. 15 Michigan, but won six out of the final seven to rally for a 23-15 victory. In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Pack — which tied a school record with three All-Americans last year, but had none of the trio in the lineup after the graduation of two and decision to red- shirt senior 184-pounder Pete Renda — the team finished 13-2 overall, with losses only to No. 4 Virginia Tech and No. 5 Nebraska. NCSU had just three returning starters among its 10 lineup spots, filling out the rest with two true freshmen and others who were backups or redshirted last season. Junior Kevin Jack, who is ranked sec- ond nationally at his weight class and No. 20 in FloWrestling's pound-for-pound rankings of all college competitors, has led the way all year and rides a 25-match winning streak into the postseason. Fifth- year senior 149-pounder Sam Speno and redshirt junior Michael Macchiavello both redshirted last year and are currently ranked 10th in their weight classes. NC State hosted the ACC Champion- ships March 4, which determined national qualifiers for the NCAA Championships March 16-18 in St. Louis. BASEBALL SEASON BEGINS WITH SERIES WIN IN HAWAI'I The Wolfpack finished last year one out away from a trip to the NCAA Super Regionals, but instead fell to eventual na- tional champion Coastal Carolina in Ra- leigh. With as much as NC State returns to the diamond this year, expectations are high — D1Baseball.com ranked the Pack sixth in its preseason poll, while Perfect Game listed it 14th. The always strong ACC boasted seven squads in the D1Baseball preseason top 21. The campaign started in Hawai'i, where NC State was able to win games one and three of the series to open 2-1. Sophomore left fielder Brett Kinneman led the way at the plate through the first three games, notching six hits in 12 at-bats, including four doubles. He was also walked twice against the Rainbow Warriors. Junior shortstop Joe Dunand was se- lected for the 2017 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List. The honor has been awarded to college baseball's top player by USA Baseball since 1978. Former All- Americans Carlos Rodon and Trea Turner were the program's most recent preseason watch list honorees for the award, in 2014; Rodon was a finalist for the honor follow- ing a stellar rookie year in 2012. — Ryan Tice ■ Red And White Notebook Smith became the first ACC player to record a pair of triple-doubles against league com- petition in the same season. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN