The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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10 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY RYAN TICE The No. 5 Wolfpack won its second straight ACC Women's Cross Country Championship Oct. 27. All five scorers for the champion- ship squad have at least one year of eligibility remaining, giving the Pack a strong chance for a possible three-peat. Redshirt freshman Dominique Clairmonte led the way, tying a career best by placing third, although teammates Elly Henes, a sophomore, and Rachel Koon, a redshirt junior and All-American last season, were right behind her to finish fourth and fifth, respec- tively. Sophomore Beth Taye (10th) and junior Ryen Frazier (21st) rounded out the scorers, while all five earned All-ACC honors with their finishes. On the men's side, the No. 22 Wolfpack claimed its 27th top- three finish at the last 29 conference meets with a third-place showing. The five scorers placed within 15 seconds of each other, led by junior Philip Hall, who was 14th. Redshirt freshman Joe Bistritz and redshirt sophomore Ben Barrett finished 15th and 16th, respectively, to also earn All-ACC laurels. Both the men and women will compete at the NCAA Southeast Regional Nov. 10 in Charlottesville, Va. While the excellence from the cross country teams has become expected at NC State, other fall Olympic sports are beginning to make statements. The women's soccer team (14-4-1 through Nov. 2) beat Notre Dame 4-1 Oct. 29 to advance to the semifinals of the ACC Cham- pionship for the first time since 1995. Sophomore midfielder Tziarra King posted the first hat trick of her career in the victory, and now ranks ninth in school history for single-season goals (14) and points (34). She was tied for sixth nationally in points and seventh in goals as of Oct. 31. The Fighting Irish entered the contest ranked No. 24 nation- ally, but have been replaced by the Wolfpack in the coaches' poll. The Pack played No. 4 North Carolina in the semifinals Nov. 3 in Charleston, S.C. "Any postseason win, whether it's in the ACC Championship or NCAA Tournament, is big, especially for this program because there haven't been many in a long time," fifth-year head coach Tim Santoro told GoPack.com. On the men's side, the Wolfpack have shown promising flashes of what is to come under first-year head coach George Kiefer, who brought in the country's No. 10 recruiting class a few months after being hired. The Wolfpack (8-4-4 through Oct. 31) have beaten top- 10 foes Clemson (1-0 Sept. 8) and Louisville (3-2 Oct. 21), and also tied Virginia (0-0 Oct. 13). Both Clemson and Louisville were ranked in the top five at the time of the match, while all three remained in the top 16 of the Oct. 31 coaches' poll. The Pack's RPI rating has climbed to No. 36 in the country as it makes its case for a potential at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament prior to its first game in the ACC Tournament, that was Nov. 1 in Raleigh against Virginia Tech. Like the women did Oct. 29, it will be the first time in program history the Pack hosted an ACC Tournament first-round match. Under second-year head coach Linda Hampton-Keith, the vol- leyball squad (15-8 through Nov. 2) has posted big victories of its own en route to one of the program's best seasons ever. After an 0-5 start the included a trio of top-10 foes, the team has gone 15-3 since and an impressive 10-2 in ACC play for a three-way tie for first in the conference standings with eight matches to play. The Pack's 8-0 league start was the best in school history, and it even included a win over UNC — the first for the program since 2012. The Pack then went on to hand Pittsburgh its first conference loss of the year. The men's golf team has also found success early in the tenure of its new leader, first-year head coach and alum Press McPhaul. His team won the Golfweek Conference Challenge in September behind a medalist effort from sophomore Benjamin Shipp, the only player in the field to shoot in the 60s all three rounds. NC State followed that up by also winning the Wolfpack Inter- collegiate in early October, led by junior medalist Stephen Franken, who tied a program record by firing a 15-under-par final score for the tournament. TRACKING THE PACK Women's Cross Country's ACC Title Run Leads Fall Standout Performances The No. 5 women's cross country team secured it second straight ACC championship despite not having a senior among its top five finishers. PHOTO COURTESY CHERYL TREOWRGY/PRETTYSPORTY.COM