Starting 157 pounder, redshirt senior Tommy Gantt raises his hand in victory after beating his opponent during the meet against Virginia Tech. Despite his victory, the Wolfpack would go on to lose the match to the Hokies. This dual meet was held in the Holshouser Building on Friday, Feb 12, 2016.
Men’s Basketball
Grade: D+
The 2015-16 season was a rough one for the NC State men’s basketball team. A season-opening loss saw West Virginia transfer Terry Henderson injure his ankle and ultimately sidelined him for the entire season. The Wolfpack struggled to provide depth from its bench all year. However, given its situation, the 16-17 campaign it ran was nothing short of impressive. With quality wins over teams like Miami, the Pack showed flashes of greatness during a rather forgettable season. State played Duke down to the wire in its last game of the season in the ACC Tournament. Despite falling 92-89 to the Blue Devils, the Wolfpack walked away knowing it can play with the best of them when it matters.
Junior Cat Barber was the leader of the team without question. En route to a first-team All-ACC performance, Barber led the ACC in scoring at 23.5 points per game and was fourth in assists averaging 4.5 per game. While the Newport News, Virginia native is headed for the NBA, he leaves behind a team brimming with young talent. Highlighted by top recruit Dennis Smith Jr., the Wolfpack looks to come back next season eager to prove that last season was just a fluke.
While next season’s team should have a drastically different look, it shouldn’t miss a beat and compete in a loaded ACC for a bid to the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
Women’s Basketball
Grade: B
The NC State women’s basketball team had a solid bounce back season, improving from a lackluster 18-15 (7-9 ACC) regular season record in the 2014-15 season to a respectable 20-11 (10-6 ACC) record in the 2015-16 season.
However, despite the two-game improvement, the Wolfpack fell just short of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, being listed as one of the First Four Out. Additionally, the team did not put in an application to the WNIT, so it did not get the chance to participate, even though it would’ve been a high seed if it had.
Its exclusion from the NCAA Tournament is the only reason this grade isn’t higher. While it was arguably snubbed from the tournament field, its lack of a true signature win was really the only downside of the Pack’s season. The team lost six games by five points or less. If it had turned its fortunes in just one or two of those games, it likely would’ve earned a tournament bid.
Although the lack of a trip to the NCAA Tournament dampened NC State’s season, the improvement it showed from the previous season was promising. It returns four of its five starters, most notably the second-team All-ACC performers in guards Miah Spencer and Dominique Wilson. The only position this team lacks is a dominant force at center, something it has been without since Markeisha Gatling graduated and left for the WNBA two years ago.
Additionally, ESPN has the Wolfpack’s 2016 recruiting class ranked 18th, with five-star guard Aislinn Konig highlighting the stellar class that will add more firepower to the Pack next season.
Wrestling
Grade: A
The NC State wrestling team had one of its best seasons in program history and finished 11th overall in the final polls, the team’s best finish since 1993, when it finished seventh. The Pack cultivated a 23-1 dual meet record, posting three top-five wins against No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 5 Missouri Tigers and No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes. In addition to the top wins, the team won the ACC Championship and sent eight wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament.
Both redshirt seniors Tommy Gantt and Nick Gwiazdowski finished the regular season with a perfect record in matches, including an ACC title in their respective weight classes. The team showed a lot of promise from its younger starters such as redshirt freshmen Sean Fausz and Jamal Morris and sophomore Michael Boykin.
Despite sending eight wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament, the only wrestler who made it to the final of his weight class was Gwiazdowski, who finished as heavyweight runner-up to world champion Kyle Snyder of Ohio State. Gantt finished a modest eighth and junior Pete Renda finished in third place for the 184-pound weight class.
The team has a great foundation for the future, with Renda and junior Max Rohskopf returning for their senior seasons and sophomore Kevin Jack coming back as a favorite in 143-pound weight class. Head coach Pat Popolizio has the team ready to compete for national titles in the upcoming years.
Men’s Indoor Track & Field
Grade: A
The NC State men’s indoor track and field teams both had superb seasons, as they greatly surpassed preseason expectations and completed the indoor circuit ranked No. 17 in the final USTFCCCA National Indoor Track and Field rankings.
The significant strides of underclassmen and continued development of upperclassmen proved to be a fruitful combination. Freshman Nyheim Hines and sophomores Shannon Patterson and Quashawn Cunningham offered the Wolfpack an abundance of depth in the sprints.
Redshirt sophomore Joshua Davis continued his advancement in the weight throw. Freshman Christopher Garrick provided additional assistance in the field events with his consistent high jump improvements.
Elon transfer and redshirt senior Luis Vargas proved valuable in the long distance races, while senior Jonathan Addison continued utilizing his versatility in long jump and sprints to rake in points.
The season culminated in a fourth-place ACC championship finish marking a five-spot improvement from last year’s ninth-place result.
The men also sent two competitors to the NCAA Indoor Championship meet. Addison’s runner-up long jump performance and Vargas’ fifth place 5,000-meter finish, secured a 14th-place team finish.
Women’s Indoor Track & Field
Grade: B+
The women’s side performed well throughout the indoor circuit and closed out its season ranked No. 20 in the final USTFCCCA National Indoor Track and Field rankings.
The team’s veteran competitors proved crucial. Senior Alexis Perry remained a reliable source of points in the sprint hurdles and long jump, while redshirt senior Nicole Chavis provided additional field event points in the weight throw. Sophomore Javonne Antoine made steady leaps in the triple jump as well.
In the distance races, redshirt sophomore Erika Kemp and redshirt junior Megan Moye carried their momentum from the cross country course to the indoor surface and had breakout seasons.
The only disappointment of the season was a seventh-place ACC championship meet finish, a result that fell one place lower than last year. Several competitors simply had an off meet and didn’t perform up to the potential they’d demonstrated earlier in the season.
However, despite this shortcoming, the team managed to send three competitors to the NCAA indoor championship meet and garner enough points to secure a 17th place result.
Men’s Swimming
Grade: A+
The 2015-16 season was one of the best in history for the men’s team, and an A+ just doesn’t seem to cover it. This year, the Wolfpack men’s team placed fourth overall in the NCAA Championships, which tied the highest placement in program history achieved 61 years ago. The Pack nabbed 38 All-America honors and broke 17 school, conference and pool records at the NCAAs.
In the ACC Championships, the team took home its second-straight ACC title, broke 19 records, made the podium 24 times and took home 11 gold medals. And this summer, NC State has three swimmers heading to Rio de Janeiro to compete in the 2016 Olympics for their respective countries. Head coach Braden Holloway, his staff and the talented swimmers on the team are creating a powerhouse program that is on its way to achieving even more amazing things.
Women’s Swimming
Grade: A+
In the 2015-16 season, the Wolfpack women made history for its program. In the NCAA Championships, the team took home ninth place overall, which is the second-highest placement for the program since 1982. It also broke six school-records and nabbed 31 All-America honors. In the ACC Championships, it came in second place, which is the team’s highest placement since 1982. The Wolfpack broke 17 school records, landed on the podium in 15 events, had nine competitors earn All-ACC honors for its efforts and won ACC titles in three events. The women pushed themselves and proved that they are a force to be reckoned with.
Men’s Golf
Grade: A
The men’s golf team followed up an outstanding fall season with an even better spring performance. This could be hard to believe given that the team finished top three in four of five tournaments and never finished outside of the top five during the first half of its season, especially after such a rocky start to the spring. The Pack failed to crack the top five in its first three tournaments, but then rebounded to finish top three in two of its final three.
The most impressive result came at the Wolfpack’s home course, Lonnie Poole Golf Course, where the team dominated the field in its final tournament of the regular season. The combined team first-round score of 266 [-18] marks its best round of the season, and one of the best in school history. It won its first tournament of the year, and was led by senior and team co-captain David Cooke. He set a course record with his score and really improved his play from the first half of the season. Freshman Stephen Franken also played a huge role in this team, and led the Pack with his impressive round average of 71.2. The team finished 35th in the overall standings of the 2015-16 season, and it hopes for a solid performance in the ACC Tournament to propel them into NCAA post-season play.
Women’s Golf
Grade: B-
The NC State women’s golf team, featuring nine players of seven different countries, played consistent during the 2015-16 season. There were no outstanding finishes, but there were also no poor performances from the team in a single tournament this season either. The Pack finished in the top five three times but never finished higher than fifth, and in eight tournaments this year, the Pack only finished in the bottom half twice. Rachael Taylor, the team’s lone senior, led the Pack with a wonderful fall performance and an even better spring display, as she finished first in the Suntrust Gator Invitational in March. Freshman India Clyburn also claimed a first-place finish in the second tournament of the fall season, the Mercedes Intercollegiate Championship. She is one of four freshmen on the team, which also consists of two sophomores and two juniors. Taylor will be the only player leaving, which means this young core of players will have loads of potential for next season.