With the academic year almost finished, it is time to take a look at N.C. State athletics and assess the current State of the Pack.
Baseball
It is official. Elliott Avent’s team is cooking.
N.C. State went to Atlanta ranked No.15 and swept the higher-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Prior to this past weekend, the Pack had not won a series in Atlanta since 2001 and had not swept a series against the Jackets since 1992. State is now 32-10 overall, 14-7 in conference playing and has won 14 straight games.
The most remarkable thing about N.C. State’s winning streak is that the Pack has trailed in most of the games. State has shown a resiliency over the past month and the preseason predictions of success in 2013 suddenly do not seem so far-reaching.
This weekend, top-ranked Carolina will come to Doak Field. The Tar Heels are an amazing 39-2 this season and have their own 14-game winning streak to match. It is not hyperbole to suggest this is one of the biggest series the State baseball team has had in several years.
Softball
If there is one bad thing about the recent success of the baseball team, it would have to be its winning streak obscuring the wonderful season State’s softball team is having.
Shawn Rychcik’s squad is also ablaze. State is now 25-18-1 on the season and the Pack has won 12 of its last 14 games, with the two losses both being by one run.
The scheduling of top-notch opponents put N.C. State in a hole earlier this season. The Pack returned from Fullerton, Calif. with an eight-game losing streak. With a record of 11-13-1 entering the last week of March, State could have been buried.
But the Wolfpack has responded with verve since then and, like the baseball team, is winning games late. So far, Rychcik has justified the faith Debbie Yow had when she hired him away from Boston University.
Tennis
It was announced Sunday night that the N.C. State men’s tennis team would be the four-seed for the ACC Tournament. The Pack (13-9, 6-4 in the ACC) earned a bye this season, an improvement on State’s sixth place finish in 2012, and will face Clemson Friday. N.C. State defeated the Tigers 4-2 at Clemson earlier this season. Top-seeded Virginia awaits the winner.
As for the women’s team, Hans Olsen’s bunch finished eighth in league play. The Pack will face Boston College Thursday in its opening ACC Tournament match-up. Like the men’s team, the ladies also won their previous encounter versus their opening opponent. Should the Pack prevail over the Eagles once again, it will set up a quarterfinal meeting with top-seeded rival North Carolina.
Football
If speed kills, the Wolfpack will leave plenty of teams in its wake.
After watching a robust 131 offensive plays between the two sides, the fans that made the trip to Carter-Finley Stadium could be forgiven if they missed big plays while blinking.
State seems to be meshing nicely to Dave Doeren’s new offensive scheme. Quarterbacks Manny Stocker, Pete Thomas and Jacoby Brissett all played well. The inclination among the scribes who follow State was to lament the fact that the Kay Yow Spring Game did not create some separation among the signal callers. Doeren has four months to figure that out, so sleep should not be lost at this point.
