The NC State swimming & diving team continued its strong opening weekend of the 2014-15 season on Saturday, as the men’s and women’s squad finished first overall for the third straight season at the All-North Carolina Invitational at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
The women’s squad claimed first-place honors with a two-day total of 1,580 points followed by East Carolina [1,413], Davidson [1,126], Gardner-Webb [883] and Campbell [815]. The men’s team won with a two-day total of 1,681 points followed by ECU [1,251], Davidson [1,061], Gardner-Webb [892] and Queens University of Charlotte [811].
The Wolfpack posted impressive results throughout the weekend, as the squad swept the eight relays contested, as well as the four diving events and won 20 of the 26 swimming events.
Holloway’s Breakdown
On the performance in relay events this weekend:
“Relays are obviously a big focal point for us,” said head coach Braden Holloway. “This early in the season I like to put people in different spots in the order to challenge them and I like to put them in pressure situations. Overall, the relays show the depth of the team right now.”
On the fan support and help putting on the meet:
“We’re real happy with the help we get to put on this meet. It’s a fun meet for a lot of parents to come and they do a great job stepping up and helping out with hospitality and timing. I’d also like to thank the officials and the Greensboro Aquatic Center for letting us host this meet each and every year.”
Wolfpack Relays
The women’s squad opened the morning session by claiming first and second-place honors in the 200-medley relay. The team of Ashlyn Koletic, Kayla Brumbaum, Lauren Rhodes and Lauren Poli touched the wall in a time of 1:42.53 to win the event. On the men’s side, the Pack had four relay teams finish in the top-five of the men’s 200-medley relay, as the quartet of Hennessey Stuart, Derek Hren, John Newell and Simonas Bilis won the event with a time of 1:29.32.
The evening session closed with the men’s and women’s squad winning the 400 freestyle relay. The women’s team of Lotta Nevalainen, Alexia Zevnik, Natalie Labonge and Hannah Freyman combined to win the event in a time of 3:24.58, while the combination of Ryan Held, Bilis, Soren Dahl and Johnson swam the men’s event in a time of 2:58.32 to finish first.
Springboard Action
Redshirt junior Rachel Mumma swept the women’s diving events throughout the weekend, as she paced the field with a score of 286.95 in the three-meter competition to meet the NCAA zone diving standard.
Grant Saale also won his second diving event over the weekend, as he tallied a score of 314.33 on the men’s one-meter. Freshman Harrison Mitchell finished second in the event with a score of 301.95. Saale and Mitchell each met the NCAA zone diving standard.
Karshen’s Knowledge
On the divers performance throughout the weekend:
“I thought the divers did really well this weekend in the first meet of the year,” said head diving coach Josh Karshen. “They were all very solid and very smart. I was happy with how they performed.”
IM Notebook
Anton Ipsen won his second individual medley event of the weekend, as the freshman touched the wall first overall with a time of 3:57.61 in the 400 IM. Ipsen also won the 200 IM on Friday.
Wolfpack Fly
Christian McCurdy cruised to victory in the men’s 200 butterfly, as he met the NCAA ‘B’ standard and set the meet record with a time of 1:46.09. In addition, John Newell and Austin Snyder finished third and fourth, respectively.
Wolfpack Sprints
The women’s squad swept the top five positions in the 100 freestyle. Zevnik tapped the wall with a 51.03 clocking, while Riki Bonnema [51.13] finished second and Koletic [51.85] tapped the wall in third-place.
On the men’s side, freshman Held won the 100 free with a clocking of 45.24, while Stuart, Colin Ellington and Jason Deana all finished in the top five.
In the men’s 200 free, Johnson finished with a 1:40.02 clocking, while Ellington touched the wall in 1:40.18. Held and Stephen Coetzer also finished in the top-five in the event.
The Great Mile
Rachel Muller won her second event in as many days, as she completed the women’s 1650 freestyle in a time of 16:58.56, while Adam Linker cruised to victory in the men’s mile with a final time of 15:46.74.
Breaststroke Breakdown
Hren continued his terrific weekend, as the sophomore clocked a 55.23 to record a victory in the men’s 100 breaststroke. His time in the event met the NCAA ‘B’ standard.
Backstroke Notables
Senior Hannah Freyman led the way for the Pack in the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.39 to finish first overall, while Lotta Nevalainen [56.85] finished second and Addisynn Bursch [57.82] placed third in the event.
Up Next
The Wolfpack will open its home slate against Georgia on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 11 a.m. Part of the women’s squad will also be traveling to compete in the Dallas Morning Classic hosted by SMU on Oct. 17 and 18.
Catawba finished up its season-opening swim meet on Saturday at the All-NC Invitational held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. The Catawba men finished sixth among 11 teams while the women were eighth out of 14 teams.
Jevgenij Gamper and Theo Zatterstrom each had a pair of top 10 swims for the men on Saturday. Gamper had sixth place finishes in both the 100 breast (57.57) and the 200 breast (2:08.56), while Zatterstrom was ninth in the 200 free (1:43.93) and the 200 fly (1:58.28).
Andrew McCollister went 10th in the 400 IM (4:13.97) and Dominik Brus was 10th in the 200 back (1:55.52). Brus claimed a 13th place spot in the 100 back (53.33) and Rafal Baran was 13th in the 200 fly (1:59.86) and 14th in the 400 IM (4:17.50). Toomas Goutt had the other top 15 swim, finishing 14th in the 100 free (47.96).
For the women, Anna Barnes had the best finish as she clocked in for an 11th place in the 1650 free (18:37.71). Nadine Brockmann was 14th in the 200 free (1:57.77) and 16th in the 100 free (54.53).
Also posting top 20 swims were Ellery Carson, who was 17th in the 1650 free (21:10.89) and Janin Kassner, who placed 20th in the 200 breast (2:35.16). The women's 400 free relay team was 12th and the 200 medley relay team 14th.
The teams will next face Limestone in a home meet on Oct. 18 at Johnson Pool at 1 p.m.
Men's Final Standings
1. NC State 1681, 2. East Carolina 1251, 3. Davidson 1061.5, 4. Gardner-Webb 892, 5. Queens 811.5, 6. CATAWBA 568, 7. St. Andrews 540, 8. Mars Hill 369, 9. Lenoir-Rhyne 331, 10. Warren Wilson 40, 11. Greensboro 6.
Women's Final Standings
1. NC State 1580, 2. East Carolina 1413, 3. Davidson 1126, 4. Gardner-Webb 883, 5. Campbell 815, 6. Queens 657, 7. UNC Asheville 515, 8. CATAWBA 362, 9. Lenoir-Rhyne 156, 10. NC A&T 131, 11. Mars Hill 106, 12. St. Andrews 95, 13. Warren Wilson 28, 14. Greensboro 5.
The Davidson men's and women's swimming & diving teams both placed third in a strong season-opening performance at the All-NC Invitational, hosted by NC State, which concluded Saturday evening in the Greensboro Aquatics Center.
Luke Burton led the men’s team with a third-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke and a seventh-place finish in the 200 back. He also contributed to a pair of top-10 relay efforts, as he opened the day in the 200 medley relay by teaming with Spencer Gill, Cameron Bard and Brandon Kegley for a seventh-place finish in 1:35.44. The meet concluded with the 400-yard freestyle relay, in which Burton, Bard, Dylan Ludwick and Kegley placed sixth in 3:08.73.
The Davidson men totaled 1061 points in its 11-team field, while NC State claimed the team title with 1681 points. The ‘Cats trailed East Carolina (1251), but led Gardner-Webb (892).
For the women, Meredith Nakano earned three top-fives and a sixth-place finish individually, while also earning a fifth- and seventh-place finish, respectively, in two relay efforts.
Nakano led teammate Elise Lankiewicz (seventh, 57.81) in the 100-yard fly with a fifth-place finish in the 100-yard fly, and then touched fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:05.85) and sixth in the 100-yard freestyle (52.80). She led teammate Katy Williams (eighth, 2:26.18) in the 200 breast with her top placing of the day, taking fourth in 2:21.18.
Lauren Malachowski, Nakano, Lankiewicz and Kassie Shannon opened Day 2 with a seventh-place finish in 1:48.61 in the 200 medley relay, and Lankiewicz, Shannon, Angie Healy and Nakano concluded it with a fifth-place finish in 3:31.26 in the 400 free.
NC State was also victorious on the women’s side, totaling 1580 points, while East Carolina also took second with 1413 points. Davidson totalted 1126 to lead Gardner-Webb (883) in a 14-team field.
On the men’s side, Grant Smith also had a strong day, earning a pair of top-10 placements. His top finish was fifth in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:07.98, and he was followed by Gill in seventh in 2:09.60. Smith touched the wall in 4:07.11 in the 400 individual medley and placed 11th in the 100-yard breast in 59.28 seconds, trailing Gill’s 58.64 for an eighth-place finish in the same event.
Making a strong collegiate debut, Riley League placed sixth in the 200 fly in 1:55.48.
Senior Dylan Ludwick also performed well. In addition to his relay success, he placed 10th in the 200 free in 1:43.93, and 12th in the 100 free in 47.80 seconds. Bard also posted an individual top-10 finish, placing 10th in 53.06 seconds in the 100 fly.
Additional highlights for the women included Lankiewicz’s fourth-place finish in the 200 freestyle in 1:53.63, and her sixth placing in the 200 fly in 2:05.98, giving her four top-10 individual performances for the weekend.
The ‘Cats also picked up a pair of top-10 finishes in the 100-yard backstroke and the 1650-yard freestyle. Malachowski led in the back, taking seventh in 59.33 with Kate Moreton trailing closely in ninth in 1:00.26. Anna Blair Bullock paced Davidson in the distance race, touching seventh in 18:10.98. Leah Hubert followed in eighth in 18:13.79.
On Friday, Lankiewicz posted the top Davidson finish, taking third behind a pair of NC State swimmers in the 500-yard freestyle in 4:59.20, while freshman Elizabeth Weldon rounded out the Top 10 in the event in her debut in 5:11.34.
The Wildcat women earned two additional top-five finishes, as Karen Monuszko led three Davidson divers in the 1-meter dive with a fifth-place finish, scoring 207.68, and Erica Clancy, Nakano, Shannon and Healy teamed up in the 200-yard freestyle relay to place fifth in 1:37.97.
Shannon then paced Davidson in the 50 free, touching the wall in 24.68 seconds to place ninth. Four 'Cats placed in the Top 15, as Clancy (24.80), Malachowski (24.82) and Healy (24.88) placed 13th, 14th and 15th, respectively.
The women's session concluded with the 400-yard medley relay, which Healy, Williams, Lankiewicz and Nakano led with a seventh-place finish in 3:58.20.
The Wildcat men saw their top finishes come in the relays, as Bard, Ari Snyder, Kegley and Burton opened the session with a fifth-place finish in the 200 free in 1:25.32. Burton, Gill, Bard and Kegley then concluded the session with a sixth-place finish in 3:30.30 to lead the 'Cats in the 400 medley.
In between, three earned top-10 finishes in the 500-yard freestyle, led by Ludwick in seventh in 4:44.04. He was followed by a pair of freshmen in eighth and ninth, respectively: Clay Resweber (4:45.66) and Cole Riggan (4:45.95).
Smith paced the men in the 200 individual medley with an eighth-place finish in 1:55.93. Bard also earned an eighth placing, doing so in the 50 free in 21.30 seconds. Burton followed in 12th in 21.74.
Davidson returns to action Saturday at 1 p.m. against East Carolina in its first dual meet of the season.
The East Carolina men's and women's swimming and diving teams each finished in second place at the All-North Carolina Invitational, which concluded Saturday at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. The women's team finished 167 points behind first-place NC State, while the men's squad finished 430 points back of the Wolfpack.
Junior Bailie Monahan posted victories in the 200 IM (2:06.41) and the 200 butterfly (2:01.40), setting meet records in both events. She also captured second-place in the 100 butterfly with a time of 57.13, just 0.33 behind Natalie Labonge of NC State. Senior Rokas Cepulis was the only other ECU swimmer to be victorious, winning the men's 200 breaststroke.
ECU earned six silver medals during Saturday's competition. Freshman Julie Lajoie picked up a trio of silver medals, one in the women's 400 IM (4:24.49), one in the 200 butterfly (2:02.02) and the other in the 200 backstroke (2:02.43). Fellow freshman Vendela Norrman took second in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:18.44, finishing 2.05 ahead of bronze medalist and junior teammate Megan Sellers (2:20.39).
Senior Nikola Simic (45.77) finished 0.53 behind NC State's Ryan Held in the 100 freestyle for the only second-place finish on the men's side.
Sellers claimed her second individual bronze medal of the event by finishing third in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.59), missing the silver medal by 0.01 to the Wolfpack's Lauren Poli. Senior Charlsie Lincoln finished 0.16 behind her teammate to finish in fourth.
Sellers and Monahan helped the Pirates capture the bronze in the women's 200 medley relay along with Taylor Hague and Tori Angermeier with a time of 1:46.65. ECU's 400 free relay team of Simic, Fran Krznaric, Shawn Hunter and Trevor Irish earned third-place with a time of 3:05.35.
Ashley Sams (276.83) and Alicia Roueche (255.15) finished second and third on the women's 3-meter springboard with freshman Matt Mullen (245.55) claiming third in the men's 1-meter diving competition.
The Pirates will open the dual meet season on Saturday, Oct. 11 against Davidson inside Minges Natatorium at 1 p.m.
The St. Andrews University swim team competed at their opening invitational of the season last weekend at the Greensboro aquatic center in the 3rd annual All-North Carolina Invitational.
The men handled themselves pretty well as they sat in 5th place after day one, but ended up finishing 7th overall out of 11 teams that included Division I, II, and III teams. NC State won the men's tourney followed by ECU, Davidson College, and Gardner Webb University. However, Queens University (NC), which was fifth overall, finished first among D-2 and D-3 teams and were followed by Catawba College, SAU, Mars Hill, Lenoir-Rhyne (NC), Warren Wilson (NC), and Greensboro College.
The Lady Knights finished 12th on the women's side overall but placed 5th among seven D-2 and D-3 schools. The top 4 schools in the women's invite were the same as the men with Campbell finishing 5th followed by Queens, UNC-Asheville, Catawba, LRU, NC A&T, Mars Hill, SAU, Warren Wilson and Greensboro.
Leading the charge for the Knights was the men's 200 yard freestyle relay team who finished 8th out of 23 teams and second among D-2 schools with a time of 1:26.72, just six seconds off NC State's winning time. Their relay team consisted of junior David Lambert, and sophomores Drew Gurley, Josh Dixon, and Jake Anderson.
Sophomore Ryan Frayne then swam a quality time of 2:01 in the 200 yard individual medley to place 18th overall and third among D-2 schools. He also swam another good race in the 100 yard breaststroke as he came in 15th overall (5th among D-2) in 1:00.49, just four seconds off the runner-up from Queens. Finally, he swam to a 17th place finish and 7th in D-2 in the 200 yard breaststroke in 2:14.03
Senior Triniti Counter and freshman Tarryn Holmes also swam good times for the women in the 50 yard freestyle as Counter placed 25th overall and Holmes placed 29th but were both second and fourth among D-2 schools out of the large 55 person race. Counter swam a time of 25.6 seconds while Holmes' was 26.01.
The best result of the weekend, however, came courtesy of Lambert as he placed 4th overall in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 20.89 seconds finishing 0.43 off of the winning NC State time. Needless to say, he was the top finisher among D-2 and D-3 schools as well while his teammate Anderson finished in 15th overall and second among D-2 with a time of 22.06. Josh Dixon also had a quality finish of 20th out of the 42 person race with a time of 22.2 seconds.
Lambert then placed 15th in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 47.97 (4th among D-2).
Another SAU men's relay team had a good result as well as they finished 9th overall and first among D-2 in the 400 yard medley relay with a time of 3:33.96. The team consisted of sophomore Georgi Krastev, Frayne, Gurley, and Lambert.
The women's 200 yard medley relay team also swam well as they placed 23rd overall and third among D-2 as they finished with a time of 1:58.05 and consisted of freshman Choolwe Lourens, sophomore Katie Keyes, Holmes, and Counter. Counter and Holmes also competed well in the 100 yard butterfly with Counter finishing 17th overall and third among D-2 with a time of 59.95 while Holmes was 27th (5th in D-2) in 1:01.75 in the 53 person race. Counter then swam in the 100 yard freestyle and came in 26th overall out of the 75 person race! She swam a good time of 55.56 seconds to place 6th among D-2.
The men's 200 yard medley relay team consisting of Krastev, Anderson, Dixon, and sophomore Nick Souza placed 11th overall and third among D-2 with a time of 1:37.2. Krastev swam his best race of the weekend in the 100 yard backstroke as he placed 7th overall (2nd in D-2) with a time of 51.82 seconds. He also swam well in the 200 yard backstroke finishing in 14th overall with a time of 1:57.65 which was good enough for third in D-2.
In the 200 yard butterfly, Gurley ended up placing 16th overall and 6th in D-2 with a time of 2:00.79 while Triniti Counter was 22nd in the women's race and third in d-2 with a time of 2:16.93.
Finally, the men's 400 yard freestyle relay team consisting of Lambert, Dixon, Frayne, and Gurley placed 12th overall and 4th in D-2 with a time of 3:15.31.
The swim teams will next be competing when they return home October 18 to host Wingate University in a meet at 11 am inside O'Herron Pool.
