N.C. State Wins 3 of 4 vs. Duke, Maryland

The NC State men’s and women’s swimming and diving
teams started its 2009-10 season the right way, grabbing conference
victories on Saturday, Oct. 24. The men (2-0, 2-0 ACC) topped both Duke
(171-129) and Maryland (198-102), while the women (1-1, 1-1 ACC) split,
downing the Blue Devils (155-143) and falling to the Terrapins
(179-121).

The women’s roster put up four all-time top-10 times - including three
in individual action from Marifrances Henley, Jen Kopenitz and Morgan
Robertson – while Hudson Rains qualified for the NCAA diving zones for
the men’s team. Henley and Matt Voell also won events in their
collegiate debuts.

Kopenitz, Jessica Ward, Meg Thompson and Henley placed second in the
400-medley relay with a 3:50.26, while Anna Linkenauger finished second
in the 1000 freestyle on a 10:09.00. Henley then won the 200 freestyle
and tied the seventh-best time in school history with a 1:50.78.
Kopenitz (57.32) and Robertson (57.55) took third and fifth respectively
in the 100 backstroke, with Roberston’s standing seventh in school
history. Earlier in the day Kopenitz led off the 400-medley relay with a
57.11, tied for fourth all-time in the 100 backstroke. Ward followed
with a third-place showing in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:05.84, and
Maresa Like-Mathews’ 2:04.53 placed her fourth in the 200 butterfly.
Patrice Dason (23.62) and Ashley Richter (23.75) took second and third
in the 50 freestyle, while Hannah Hopkins (238.90) and Kirstyn Shpeler
(236.95) placed fourth and fifth in the 1-meter dive.

Richter (51.90) and Allison Hendren (52.15) took second and third in the
100 freestyle before Kopenitz finished second with a 2:01.55 in the 200
backstroke. Linkenauger and Ward ended up third and fourth in the 200
breaststroke with a 2:20.17 and 2:20.26 respectively, while Henley’s
5:00.08 in the 500 freestyle was good for second. Dason won the 100
butterfly using a 55.40, and Hopkins scored a 270.05 for fourth in the
3-meter dive. Linkenauger (2:04.31) and Kopenitz (2:06.21) took second
and third in the 200 individual medley, before Richter, Hendren, Dason
and Henley posted the third-fastest 400-freestyle relay in Wolfpack
history with a 3:25.57 for second overall.

Gaites Brown, Dan Forsythe, Voell and Conor Brennan started the men off
by taking first in the 400-medley relay on a 3:23.99, which Mason McGee
followed by swiping first in both the 1000 freestyle (9:35.22) and 200
freestyle (1:39.86). Kevin Woodhull-Smith took second in the 200
freestyle with a 1:41.40, and Travis Martinez’s 1:41.41 was good for
third. Forsythe (57.16) and Greg Baskwell (58.20) took the top two spots
in the 100 breaststroke, while Mike Seiferth (1:52.89) and Sean Reams
(1:55.20) were third and fourth in the 200 butterfly. Brennan placed
second in the 50 freestyle with a 20.68, as Hudson Rains’ 286.60 in the
3-meter dive was enough for second overall.

Martinez later won the 100 freestyle with a 45.99, while
Woodhull-Smith’s 1:50.47 in the 200 backstroke placed him second.
Forsythe (2:05.45) and Baskwell (2:08.42) once again finished first and
second respectively in the 200 breaststroke, and McGee won the 500
freestyle with a 4:35.98. Voell used a 50.18 to win the 100 butterfly,
while Seiferth’s 50.89 placed him third. Rains’ then qualified for the
NCAA diving zones by scoring a 301.95 in the 1-meter dive.
Woodhull-Smith collected first in the 200 individual medley with a
1:52.29, while Baskwell took third on a 1:55.62. Brennan, McGee, Brown
and Martinez finished the day off with a 3:04.18 to win the
400-freestyle relay.

NC State will return to action next Saturday, Oct. 31 with an 11 a.m.
home meet. The men’s and women’s teams will both battle Richmond, while
the women will also take on Campbell.



The Maryland women's swimming and diving team had a big day Saturday, defeating conference rivals Duke and N.C. State to open up the ACC portion of its 2009-10 slate.

The Terps, who moved to 3-0 on the year, had a flurry of top-three finishers. Freshman Megan Lafferty won the 100 back (56.51) and was a member, along with Annie Fittin, Laura Wright and Ginny Glover, of the winning 400 free relay team (3:25.33). Maryland captured both relays as Fittin, Alexa Hamilton, Jen Vogel and Glover led the 400 medley squad (3:47.71) to a first-place finish.

Vogel, who racked up All-America honors in the 200 fly last season, won the event Saturday (2:02.17) while also taking first in the 200 IM (2:04.18). Fellow senior Laura Wright also had a big day in the pool, winning the 100 free (51.61).

Fittin, an NCAA qualifier as a sophomore last season, won the 50 free (23.45) and finished second in the 100 back (56.60). Hamilton and Glover also had breakout days for the Terps, winning the 200 breast (2:18.76) and 200 back (2:01.26), respectively.

Fresh off qualifying for the NCAA Regionals Friday versus Johns Hopkins, diver Alisa Kurbatova won the 3-meter (292.05).

Maryland hits the road for a dual meet at North Carolina, who is also hosting the 2010 ACC Swimming and Diving Championships, on Nov. 6.

The Maryland men's swimming and diving team fell against Duke and N.C. State in Atlantic Coast Conference action on Saturday at Eppley Natatorium.

Maryand's youth shined in their first conference action in the 2009-2010 season. Sophomore Andrew Relihan won the 200 back (1:50.02) and finished second in the 100 back (51.69) and 200 IM (1:53.30). Fellow classmate Sean Stewart captured the 200 fly (1:50.49). Freshman Nick Evans finished third in the 1000 free (9:39.99).

Several veterans also had good days in the pool for the Terps. Junior Mitch Challacombe won the 100 back (51.40) while seniors Chris Rouchard and Alexsandar Damjanic finished second in the 500 free (4:38.88) and 100 fly (50.55), respectively.

Maryland returns to competition when it travels to North Carolina on Nov. 6.



On Saturday, the Blue Devils opened interleague competition, slated for a double-dual meet against Maryland and N.C. State.

The men’s team picked up its first ACC win of the 2009-10 season, soundly defeating host Maryland by a margin of 194-106. However, the men also suffered their first loss of the campaign at the hands of N.C. State by a score of 129-171. Sophomore Nathan French took second place in the 1000 freestyle with a season-best time of 9:39.21, closely followed by freshman Alex Harmon who dropped five seconds in the event from last week to place fourth. Chris Cirillo came up big for the Blue Devils at the meet, swimming to a second-place finish in both the 200 butterfly and as a contributing member of the 400 medley relay. Ben Hwang continued to shine, claiming first place in the 50 freestyle and second place in the 100 freestyle against stiff competition. Nick McCrory once again commanded the diving competitions, seizing first on both the one and three-meter boards. In the process, McCrory broke Clinton Brush’s 1961 record on the one-meter board by more than 30 points, notching a score of 395.85.

The women’s team was unable to record a win in the opening weekend of ACC competition. They fell to Maryland by a score of 136.5-163.5 and were edged by N.C. State 143-155. The usual suspects led the Duke scoring effort. Ashley Twichell recorded a first-place finish in the 1000 freestyle with senior Jackie Fasano finishing just seconds later in third. Twichell also registered first place in the 500 freestyle and second place in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:51.64. Shannon Beall claimed second place in both the 100 and 200 butterfly and diver Abby Johnston turned in another strong performance on the boards recording a first and second-place finish. But these usual suspects were joined by a couple of fresh faces. Freshman Emily Barber swam to first place in the 100 breaststroke and second place in the 200 breaststroke. And fellow freshman Cara Vogel took third in the 200 backstroke. However, the women struggled in the relays to open and close the meet and were thus unable to lock up a couple of early-season ACC wins.

The men are now 2-1 (1-1 ACC) on the season while the women fall to 1-2 (0-2 ACC).

Duke will return home to Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion on October 30 for a 6:00 p.m. matchup against Georgia Tech and Houston.