Rising senior Stephen Coetzer of the NC State swimming & diving program captured his second South African national title in a span of three days on Sunday at the South African Short Course National Championships.
A dual citizen between the United States and South Africa, Coetzer captured the national title in the 200 backstroke with a finals time of 1:56.19. He advanced to the finals after recording the fastest time among 31 swimmers in the preliminaries with a 1:59.35.
“I just wanted to represent the Wolfpack as well as I could,” Coetzer said. “It's an immense honor for me to represent South Africa at the World Championships in December. I'm happy with my performances this weekend and can’t wait to improve upon them as my senior year for NC State comes along.”
The win for Coetzer is his second national title for South Africa in a span of three days, as he won the 100 backstroke on Friday with a finals time of 53.31. With his two victories, Coetzer will swim as a member for the South African National Team at the 2014 Short Course World Championships, which is set to take place in Qatar in December.
Last season, Coetzer earned a silver medalist at the ACC Championships in the 200 back and also finished All-ACC in the 200 IM.
The Wolfpack swimming & diving program will open its 2014-15 campaign at the All-North Carolina Invitational which will take place Oct. 3-4 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C.
