The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/947448
18 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK WRESTLING PROGRAM RECEIVES GENEROUS DONATION The NC State wrestling team came through with a huge 19-15 victory over Virginia Tech to win the ACC dual championship on Senior Night in front of 1,394 fans Feb. 16 at Reynolds Coliseum. Off the mat, an anonymous donor was part of a spe- cial donation to help the Wolfpack wrestling program continue to be successful in the future. NC State re- ceived $100,000 for its endowment program in honor of legendary former wrestling coach Bob Guzzo. NC State finished the dual match portion of the ACC schedule a perfect 5-0 with head coach Pat Popolizio building off the foundation Guzzo put into place during his 30-year head coaching career. Guzzo went 356-183-7 during his Wolfpack tenure from 1974-2004, including 115-50 in ACC competi - tion. He coached 86 individual ACC champions, 24 All- Americans and four national champions — Matt Reiss in 1980, Tab Thacker in 1984, Scott Turner in 1988 and Sylvester Terkay in 1993. Guzzo was the second winningest coach in ACC wres- tling history when he retired. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL LANDS SENIOR ESRA MCGOLDRICK The NC State women's basketball team landed a ver- bal commitment from 6-2 post player Esra McGoldrick, who will officially join the program during the spring signing period in April. McGoldrick brings an international dimension to the Wolfpack program. The Rangiora, New Zealand, product set the goal of playing college basketball when she was 15 years old. Three years later, she achieved it. McGoldrick officially visited NC State Jan. 13, and picked the Wolfpack on Feb. 4 over Georgetown and Texas Christian. NCSU assistant coach Gene Hill was the point man on the recruitment. McGoldrick joins Greensboro (N.C.) Northern Guil - ford 6-4 center Elissa Cunane and Suwanee (Ga.) Col- lins Hill 6-4 center Jada Rice in the Wolfpack's 2018 class. "They actually found me on a recruiting site I signed up to," said McGoldrick, 18. "It was pretty much a miracle Coach Gene clicked on my profile. It had all my highlights. That's how we came in contact. "Coach Moore was an amazing person to get to know. He made it very easy to pick NC State." McGoldrick is one of the six children and the first to attend college. Her four brothers taught her com - petitiveness, not through basketball, but in another endeavor. "They all race in motor cross and BMX," McGoldrick said. "The second youngest brother, Daniel, taught me a lot about basketball growing up. "I developed my game through passion and competi- tiveness. My three-point game was developed more as my basketball experience grew." McGoldrick plans to major in psychology and social work at NCSU. She knows it is going to be a challenge playing in the ACC, but is looking forward to it. She's part of a new generation that is helping basketball rise in popularity in New Zealand. Center Steven Adams of the Oklahoma City Thunder and center Aron Baynes of the Boston Celtics are both from New Zealand. "Basketball is becoming more popular every day, especially from young ages," McGoldrick said. "It's almost up there with rugby and rowing." ■ Red And White Notebook NC State received $100,000 for its endowment program in honor of legendary former wrestling coach Bob Guzzo (center). Current coach Pat Popolizio (left), Wolfpack Club director Bobby Purcell and director of athletics Debbie Yow joined Guzzo for the check presentation. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS For its annual Play4Kay Game, played Feb. 18 in Reynolds Coliseum, the Wolfpack players (DD Rogers No. 21, Kiara Leslie No. 11 and Erika Cassell No. 24) donned inspirational words on the back of their jersey. It was also senior night for NC State, which defeated Wake Forest 74-61. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN