Starting Wednesday, the No. 11 NC State women’s swimming and diving team is going to Columbus, Ohio to compete at the NCAA Championships. NC State will be sending nine swimmers, along with one diver, to the event.
Senior Hannah Moore leads the way for the Pack with three qualifications, in the 500-yard freestyle, where she is ranked 15th, the 400-yard individual medley, where she was also seeded at 15th, and the 1,650-yard freestyle where she is seeded third, 45 seconds behind Olympic gold medalist Kathleen Ledecky of Stanford.
Freshman Kathleen Moore, Hannah Moore’s sister, is guaranteed just one event this meet, the 400-yard individual medley. Sophomore Ky-Lee Perry ranks 13th in the nation in the 50-yard freestyle, while junior Elise Haan is fifth in the 100-yard backstroke and 18th in the 200-yard backstroke.
Freshman Julia Poole missed out by one spot for the 400 IM, placing just 33 hundredths of a second too slow. However, Poole did secure her spot as the 24th-fastest swimmer in the 200-yard individual medley.
Freshman Tamila Holub is ranked 15th for the 1,650 free, her only event for NCAAs. Junior Anna Jahns and sophomore Ariel Finke both qualified for the 1,650 as well, placing 25th and 27th, respectively.
On the diving boards, sophomore Madeline Kline will be competing for the pack after qualifying on the platform at the Zone B Championships last week in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The women, who are sending seven sophomores and freshmen, look to be building experience for the future. Apart from the experienced Hannah Moore, State doesn’t look to have any women to compete highly in their respective events. The NCAA Championships should be a valuable learning experience for this Wolfpack team, win or lose.
