2020 was an interesting year for college sports. Tournaments were canceled, championships went unplayed and seasons were cut short just as teams were starting to hit their stride. Despite everything that was 2020, NC State Athletics still managed to have a pretty impressive year. From Pack Pro debuts and wild performances in the pros to massive upset wins and Bell Tower celebrations, here is part one of our top-20 NC State Athletics moments of 2020.
No. 20: QBU out in full force in NFL Week 12
NC State fans don’t need to be reminded of the Wolfpack’s status as QBU, but there are some that still need reminding, and Week 12 serves as a perfect example for those people. Russell Wilson, Philip Rivers, Jacoby Brissett and Mike Glennon all saw action and combined for seven touchdowns.
No. 19: T.J. Warren pops off in the bubble
To say T.J. Warren started off his time in the NBA bubble with a bang would be an understatement. The former NC State small forward went off for 53 points in the Indiana Pacers’ first game of the NBA restart. In the Pacers’ first five seeding games, Warren scored 174 points (nearly 35 points per game), earning himself a place on the Kia All-Seeding Games First Team.
No. 18: Melissa Evans becomes fourth active ACC player to reach 1,000 career kills
In the first of two 1,000-related milestones on our list, volleyball’s senior opposite hitter Melissa Evans hit the 1,000-career-kill milestone in the Wolfpack’s Oct. 18 loss to UNC-Chapel Hill. Evans has been a dominant force for the Wolfpack since her freshman year and currently ranks fourth in program history for career kills.
No. 17: Elissa Cunane records 1,000th-career point
Ever since junior center Elissa Cunane broke into head coach Wes Moore’s starting lineup in February of her freshman year, Cunane has been a scoring machine. With a career points per game average of just under 16, it’s no surprise it only took until the first game of her junior year for the center to hit the 1,000-points mark.
No. 16: Volleyball bounces back, ends season on four-match win streak
Taking over a program under any circumstances is no easy task but doing so with the added difficulty of COVID-19 is undoubtedly a baptism of fire and that’s exactly the situation new head volleyball coach Luka Slabe faced this year. While his team did not get off to the hottest of starts, dropping its first four matches, the Wolfpack rebounded, winning four on the bounce to the end the year at .500. Not a terrible start for what will hopefully be a long and successful tenure for Slabe.
No. 15: Wrestling beats Virginia Tech, claims share of ACC dual title
Just a week after coming away with a win against North Carolina (foreshadowing to Part 2), the NC State wrestling team hosted No. 7 Virginia Tech. With the score tied at 15 heading into the last two bouts, redshirt freshman Jarrett Trombley pinned his Hokie opponent to give the Pack a six-point lead. Then, redshirt junior Tariq Wilson was able to narrowly avoid a pin in the final bout to seal a 21-18 victory. The win clenched a share of the ACC dual title, which it went on to win after beating Duke in the season finale. It was also the team’s third straight top-10 win.
