Not to be lost from the great 4-0 start by the football team is that the Olympic fall sports teams have also started out better than in past years. Here is a snapshot of how they are currently doing.
Volleyball
First year head coach Bryan Bunn has gotten the ladies off to a great 11-4 start. Included in this is a 1-2 start in the conference. In relation to previous seasons, this is already the most victories in a season since 2004. The eleven victories are half the total number of victories in the past four years combined.
Men’s Soccer
This year’s team, coming off a 2nd round NCAA tournament showing last year, has started out 4-4, with a 1-2 record in the conference. They beat Appalachian State earlier this week.
Women’s Soccer
Steve Springthorpe’s second team has gotten off 7-4 (1-1) start. They are showing a lot of promise and are looking at a possible NCAA bid. They host UNC on Friday. If you have a chance, go to the game and support the team.
Women’s Golf
The women started out a little slow but just finished at the top of their latest tournament. The team started out finishing 13th out of 21 teams at the Cougar Classic in Hanahan, SC. Yesterday, they finished tied for 1st, with East Carolina, out of 15 teams in the UNCG Starmount Classic.
Men’s Golf
The men are currently off to a fantastic start. They won their first tournament, beating eleven other teams at Kiawah, SC. In their second competition at the Spirit Hollow course in Iowa, they finished second out of 15 teams. After these two tournaments, the team is ranked #4 by Golfstat.
Men’s Cross Country
The men have started out fast out of the gate in their first two events. The first event was the Wolfpack Invitational where they finished first out of 8 teams, although it was not an imposing field. State took the top 3 places individually, with senior Sandy Roberts winning the race. Next, the team went to Minnesota for the Roy Griak Invitational. In this race, the team finished second out of 22 teams, which is an outstanding result based on the quality of the field.
Women’s Cross Country
The women have competed in the same two events as the men. In the Wolfpack Invitational, the women finished second out of ten teams. Freshman Laura Hoer won the race. Next, the team ran in the Roy Griak Invitational and finished 8th out of a quality field of 29 teams. As in the previous race, Laura Hoer won the race.
Summary
It appears that the first fall of the Debbie Yow era has started off with resounding success stories. Every single team looks as good or better from last year. Now, the next few weeks we will learn more as the conference season begins in earnest. The Wolfpack Unlimited train has left the station and there is no stopping it now.
