North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Singers Shine at 'Athletes With Talent' Show
10/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Pack Athletics
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. Any doubts that NC State’s student-athletes had gifts beyond their athletic talents were dispelled early Monday night at Stewart Theater, as baseball pitcher Jason Zinser spent 30 minutes playing background music on the piano as spectators filed in the doors for the inaugural “Athletes With Talent” charity show.
They were thrown further out the window when Zinser, a sophomore from
And while the 90-minute show was dominated by team skits including the wildly entertaining men’s swimming team doing its version of Mel Brooks’ “Men In Tights,” which won award for “Most Entertaining” performance the stars of the show were those athletes who took their talents a little more seriously. A full version of the show is available for free by clicking the attached video icon.
The acts ranged from a yo-yo demonstration by rifle team member Jenna Matino to duets by Zinser and volleyball player Carlee Fowler and swimmer Stephen Mellor and diver Scott Blackwell to raps by football player John Ware and track athletes Eric Davis and Dexter Adams.
But it was freshman volleyball player Nicole Huber, who belted out a rendition of Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” who stole the show for the nearly 700 spectators who filled the 811-seat theater. Huber, a
Huber’s performance clearly impressed masters of ceremony Mellor and basketball player Brandon Costner, who declared Huber the winner on the spot.
But the show went on, and the judges Demetrius Marlowe, Assistant Director of Academic Support for Student Athletes; Chad Canady, assistant equipment manager; Debbie Daniels of Case Dining; and Chris Hathcock, the “Ultimate Wolfpack Fan” needed extra time to make their decision, even after a 10-minute step routine by the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
The event the brainchild of Costner and organized by the Student Athlete Advisory Committee raised more than $1,570 to benefit the Frankie Lemmon School and Developmental Center, a Raleigh’s oldest preschool that helps children with autism and developmental delays.
“The thing I would say is just how proud I am of the athletes who organized this,” said Tonya Washington, assistant athletics director for student development and community relations. “They came up with the idea to do it, they planned it, marketed it and publicized it.
“It taught them some valuable lessons about how much effort it takes to put into a production like this.”
Members of SAAC sold the 673 tickets for $2 each, with the rest of the money coming from donations from those who could not attend.
“We’ve done a lot of things in the past, but we have never raised this amount of money for a charity,”
Others who enjoy the webcast of the show can make a donation to the school here. Make sure to note that the donation is on behalf of the NC State SAAC.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
