You may not know it, but one of the more competitive sports club teams at NC State University is the Bass Pack, a bass fishing team. In fact, club bass fishing teams, following the popular success of professional tours such as the FLW Tour, has become one of the fastest growing collegiate sports in recent years. NC State's team has been one of the most successful in the country, winning the national championship for two of the past three years - and they've got a chance to do it again next spring. Kevin Beverley, 20, an NC State student from Fuquay-Varina, and his partner, Ben Dziwulski, also from NC State, won the National Guard FLW College Fishing Northern Regional Championship held Nov. 7-9 at Lake Norman in Charlotte.

With a total 3-day weigh of 24 pounds and 10 ounces, they won by more than 2 pounds, but it was a tough fight against teams from Virginia Tech, Hampden Sydney College, Fairmont State (NY), and other NC State teams and colleges from New York to NC. The first day found them without the beneift of fishing electronics, but they still managed to end the day in 6th place out of 20 teams.

With a repaired boat, and effective drop shot techniques, they moved into third place on Sunday with a weigh-in of over 9 lbs - which put them in the top five, and qualifed them for the national championships in April. But Monday was even better. Returning to an old quarry that had been filled up by the lake, Kevin and Ben both caught their three fish limit - and blew the competition away. The first place finish netted each fisherman $12,500 in scholarship money, and won their club a 17' Ranger bassboat wrapped in their team colors - which they plan to auction to raise money for next year's competition.

During post tournament interviews, Kevin was quoted as saying, "We wanted this to happen so bad...Now that it actually did, I am just speechless.” His partner, Ben, agreed, and talked about the quarry where they landed most of their prize fish. "We spent probably 50 hours of practice studying this quarry,” added Dziwulski. “We could see the bait, so we knew they were there. We just had to find a way to catch them.”

The next step is Knoxville, Tennessee - and both are making plans for spring break...fishing at Lake Tellico, getting ready for the Nationals... and a chance to make it the Forrest Wood Cup next summer, fishing with the FLW pros. Wish them luck!

Kevin and Ben are sponsored locally by the Tackle Box at 107 Dickens Rd, Fuquay Varina, NC. To learn more about this program, go the FLW collegiate website, www.collegefishing.com.