Sports

Looking back on this past year, one can’t help but wonder if this is in fact the greatest year of athletic success in this school’s history. And if it has been, it’s worth reflecting on how amazing those events were, and how grateful we are to have been able to cover them for you.

Football had one of its best statistical seasons since 2006, a year the Demon Deacons won the ACC Championship. Along with winning the Atlantic Division and taking part in the ACC Championship, Wake Forest reached their highest ranking in program history — No. 10 — while also winning a high-profile bowl game and amassing its highest student attendance ever at 90%.

Men’s basketball electrified the city of Winston-Salem under the leadership of second-year head coach Steve Forbes, turning a 6-16 team from last year into a 25-10 squad that came one win away from the NCAA Tournament. We all remember dancing on the court after an exhilarating 22-point win over North Carolina, a team that made the NCAA Championship.

More recently, men’s and women’s golf both secured an ACC title in the past two weeks, only the fourth time this has happened in conference history, and the first time it was done by a school not named Duke.

Along with that, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s basketball, cross country, field hockey and volleyball all had spectacular runs of play during their individual seasons.

And Wake Forest is not done yet. Men’s and women’s tennis, baseball and track and field all have the remainder of their seasons ahead of them, with hopes of success and a championship in mind.

The sports section of the Old Gold and Black has been so fortunate to cover each and every single team on this campus in their successes. Stories such as “Field hockey’s one goal: a final Sunday,” “Women’s golf claims ACC Crown,” “At 8-1, Sam Hartman won’t stop working” and “MBB celebrates signature win over UNC” were incredibly fun to report because our teams this year were truly exceptional.

We were also incredibly proud to report on the successes of Dave Clawson and Steve Forbes in a long-form special insert that highlighted the success of football and men’s basketball, along with the impact these individual coaches had on their programs. It took a lot of hard work from a lot of people to make the story happen, and we were happy to bring it to the readers.

The Old Gold & Black has taken us to some special places this year: football’s bowl game in Jacksonville, the ACC Basketball Tournaments in Brooklyn and Greensboro, Cameron Indoor at Duke, Kenan Stadium at North Carolina and many other venues. It’s been special, and we won’t forget those experiences. We hope our reporting did these amazing teams justice and we appreciate your continued support.