The NC State women’s swim team finished in second place behind Virginia with 1,333 points in the four-day long ACC Championship at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
This is the fifth consecutive year that the NC State women’s swim team has reached the podium as a team in the ACC championship. This was also the second year in a row that the team has finished in the top two with Virginia.
There were many exceptional performances and medals that were won by the Wolfpack.
Sophomore Sophie Hansson showed her dominance in 200-yard breaststroke and took home her second consecutive title in the event with a personal-best time of 2:05.59. This performance should get her for the NCAA A Cut and made her the first woman from the NC State swim program since 1982 to win two conference titles in a row in the event.
Sophomore Emma Muzzy was another Wolfpack woman that took home a gold medal. Muzzy defended her ACC title in the 200-yard backstroke with an incredible time of 1:50.79 which would make it the third women’s title for the Wolfpack in the past four years for the event.
Senior men’s diver James Brady also took home the most valuable men’s diver of the meet. In the meet, he took home his first ACC title in the three-meter event while finishing in the top six in one-meter and platform events. Brady has been steadily improving all season, continually reaching personal bests, and he truly showed out over the past four days.
NC State’s women swimmers were also exceptional as a team in the 200-yard backstroke event. There were four swimmers from the Wolfpack in the final for the event including Muzzy, freshman Katharine Berkoff, junior Danika Hulzinga, and senior Mackenzie Glover. While Muzzy led the way in the event, Berkoff finished behind her in third by less than two seconds with a time of 1:52.36.
Sophomore Kylee Alons also reached the podium for the Wolfpack, finishing second in the 100-yard freestyle event with a time of 47.73. This would be her third all-conference recognition of the tournament.
The NC State women swimmers also had a very strong performance in long distance freestyle. In the 1650-yard freestyle, the Wolfpack had two swimmers to finish on the podium: senior Makayla Sargent and junior Kate Moore. Sargent took the silver with a time of 16:01.36 while Moore took the bronze with a time of 16:09.86.
NC State also brought home a medal in one of the relay events. Alons, senior Ky-lee Perry, Hansson, and junior Julia Poole finished third in the 400-yard freestyle relay while finishing with their best time of the season at 3:13.00.
After an impressive senior season, as a leader as well, Madeline Kline would finish fourth in the final for the platform event with a score of 265.95. As a diver for the Wolfpack, Kline has had an impressive collegiate career with two titles in the platform diving event and three appearances in the NCAA championships.
The NC State men’s swim team will compete in the ACC Championship Feb. 26-29 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center with the opportunity to win its sixth consecutive ACC team title.
