RALEIGH, North Carolina, November 8. NORTH Carolina State earned two victories Friday night over visiting Duke and Miami, with several swimmers posting NCAA B cuts in the process.
North Carolina State Press Release
The NC State swimming & diving team was victorious against Duke and Miami (women only) in its home debut Friday afternoon at the Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center. The 10th-ranked State men posted a 177-115 victory over the Blue Devils, while the 13th-ranked Wolfpack women's squad downed Duke, 168-121, and Miami, 207-77.
The men's squad improves to 2-2 on the season and in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) competition, while the women improve to 4-1 on the year and in conference action.
"Overall, we were pretty solid today," said head coach Braden Holloway. "In some areas, I want a little bit more, but in other areas we were a little better than I was thinking. Duke and Miami provided a great meet for us; they had great energy on their side. We still have to finish races better and get in and out of the walls a little better."
The Pack swept the four relay events of the day and posted 17 individual victories throughout the afternoon.
The meet began with the 400 medley relay and the Wolfpack claimed first-place finishes in the men's and women's event. On the women's side, Alexia Zevnik, Lauren Poli, Zina Grogg and Riki Bonnema teamed up for the victory, touching the wall in 3:43.05. On the men's side, State recorded first and second place finishes, with the team of Andreas Schiellerup, Ian Bishop, David Williams and Jonathan Boffa claiming the top spot with a time of 3:15.70.
Individually, Grogg was able to meet the required time standard for an NCAA `B' cut in the women's 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly. She captured a first-place finish in the 100 backstroke with a time of 55.02 and cruised to victory in the 100 butterfly with a time of 53.96.
"Zina Grogg was really good for us," Holloway said. "She was hitting on all cylinders and she was a big leader for us today. I was happy to see that."
Senior Ian Bishop recorded a `B' cut in the men's 100 breaststroke for the second consecutive meet, as he touched the wall first with a time of 54.83. Bishop recorded his second victory of the afternoon in the 200 breaststroke, touching the wall in 2:01.24.
"Ian Bishop continues to be a big force for us, as well as Jonathan Boffa on the men's side," Holloway stated.
In the men's 200 butterfly, sophomore Christian McCurdy recorded an NCAA `B' cut with a blazing fast time of 1:47.44. John Newell also posted a second-place finish in the event with a time of 1:49.96.
Grogg, Hannah Freyman, Ashlyn Koletic and Bonnema teamed up to capture a first-place finish in the women's 200 freestyle with a time of 1:33.06. Scott Johnson, Jason Deana, Chad Harrington and Ryan Wilkinson followed up with a victory on the men's side, touching the wall in 1:21.92.
"It was nice to pull out that 200 free relay at the end," Holloway said. "The girls haven't lost a 200 free relay since the new staff has been here. That was a close one, but they needed that and Riki [Bonnema] brought it home."
In diving, freshman Grant Saale finished with a score of 284.50 on the men's three-meter springboard, while Maddie Keeley competed in the women's three-meter springboard with a total score of 254.45. Gabrielle McDermott totaled 209.10 score on the one-meter springboard.
"I thought the divers did really well," said head diving coach Josh Karshen. "That was the best they've dove all season. They had some good competition, going up against national champions and Olympians. All of their scores are reflective of their hard work. We are going to be ready for tomorrow and keep improving throughout the season."
Up next, the Pack will face nonconference foe UNC Wilmington inside the Willis R Casey Aquatic Center on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m.
Duke Press Release
The Duke swimming and diving teams kicked off ACC competition on the road Friday at NC State's Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center. The Blue Devil women downed Miami by a score of 198-92 while both the men (115-177) and women (121-168) fell to the Wolfpack squads.
Following Friday's action, the Duke women moved to 2-1 (1-1 ACC) on the year and the men's team dropped to 1-1 (0-1 ACC).
Senior Christine Wixted highlighted several strong individual performances on the day, sweeping the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke events for the second time this season. The Greenwood, Colo., native touched at 1:03.23 to win the 100-yard race before returning to the pool later to complete the sweep with a 2:17.35 swim at the 200-yard distance. On the men's side, senior Hunter Knight finished second and registered season-best times in both breaststroke events.
The Blue Devils' sprint freestylers also had an impressive outing, as senior Lauren Weaver won the 50 freestyle in 22.86 for an NCAA provisional standard. Weaver also took second behind freshman Maddie Rusch in the 100 freestyle, while rookie James Peek was third in the men's 50 freestyle with a season-best 21.02 clocking.
Continuing what has been a solid start to his collegiate career, freshman Bradley Cline tapped the wall at 4:39.37 in the 500 freestyle to drop time from his performance two weeks ago at UNC Wilmington. Another young swimmer netted points for Duke as sophomore Kiera Molloy was second in the 400 IM at 4:26.77.
