Sophomore pitcher Emily Weiman has experienced many successes in her second season with the Pack, putting to rest the superstition of a “sophomore slump.”
She has compiled a 20-win season, currently sitting at 21-16, defeated bitter rival UNC-Chapel Hill and has been named Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week on three occasions this season.
Technician caught up with Weiman to speak about her stellar sophomore season.
Q: What does it feel like to be named ACC Player of the Week for the third time this season?
A: “It feels good. It’s exciting but I couldn’t do it without the help of my team, the run support, my catchers and my coaches. I can’t do it by myself.”
Q: You’ve won over 20 games this season. What is it like to have such a big accomplishment?
A: “It really comes from everyone else, too. They give me confidence, give me the ability to be out there and have my confidence with them behind me on defense. My defense makes plays and, obviously, we have some great run support with home runs this year. It’s been fun to just keep winning.”
Q: What are some of your motivations?
A: “I love the game, it’s just really fun. My catcher really motivates me a lot, Kirsty [Grant]. She’s my roommate too, so she really gives me a lot of motivation behind the plate and keeps me in the game, keeps my head right. She’s always there for me, like the rest of the team. I love winning and we want to make it to regionals this year, that’s really a big goal for us.”
Q: How has first year head coach Rychcik played a role in your success on the field?
A: “It’s been a good transition, just some different coaching styles. We’ve settled in well and love our new coaches. This is the way it works, we have no decision on what happens with our coaching staff so we just have to take what we have and go with it. Adversity in this game happens so we just try to stay within ourselves, have fun and play the game.”
Q: You pitched a no-hitter against April 4 against UNC-Charlotte, what was that experience like?
A: It was the first no-hitter of my college career, so it was pretty fun. I saw my teammates and coaches come over after the last pitch. Everyone came out, I had a big smile on my face, and they were all hugging me.”
Q: During the no-hitter, were you aware of what was going on or did you just go out there and pitch?
A: “Well, I saw a couple zeros up on the scoreboard toward the end of the fifth inning. I did kind of notice it but there’s that whole thing about ‘oh, don’t talk about it,’ the superstition. I’m kind of like that too but I didn’t want to recognize it or think about it, just go out there and make my own pitches and my defense will do the work, the offense will do the work and it just kind of happened.”
Q: How do you maintain focus on the mound?
A: I’ve brought into this year a focus on every pitch. Every pitch matters in the collegiate game. When you’re in tight games, like against UNC this past weekend, you can see how one pitch, or one at bat, can really matter. I just try to keep focus on not who we’re playing but just to go out there and compete for myself rather than who we’re playing. I think one of the biggest things I’ve accomplished this year is not to throw to the competition we’re up against. It’s more throwing the same way every time.”
Q: How are you going to use the big victory against UNC moving forward for the rest of the season?
A: “It gives us a lot of confidence and a lot of motivation for our postseason. Just having those wins under our belts is really good for us. I know it was a great way to go out on senior day and it was great to have those wins against our rival. We know they’re a top team in our conference and getting that one is really big for us and gives us some confidence against Virginia and Boston College for the rest of the regular season.”
