The NC State men’s swimming and diving team continued on its flawless dual season, while the Wolfpack women got back to their winning ways on the road against rival UNC-Chapel Hill Friday night in the Koury Natatorium.
The No. 6 Wolfpack men (6-0, 2-0 ACC) utterly dominated the Tar Heels (3-5, 1-2 ACC) 186-109, posting the fastest time in all 14 swimming events while also sweeping the top-three spots in nine of those races. The No. 15 NC State women (4-4, 1-1 ACC) had a much tougher task on hand, but held off the No. 20 Tar Heels (4-4, 1-2 ACC) 164-136 behind nine first-place finishes.
Ten different men won races for the Wolfpack, with juniors Justin Ress and Andreas Vazaios both winning two. Ress was a key piece in freestyle domination for the Wolfpack, winning both the 100 and 200-yard freestyles.
Senior Olympians Anton Ipsen and Ryan Held also pitched in, with Ipsen winning the 1,000-yard freestyle and Held taking his signature event, the 50-yard free. Freshman Eric Knowles captured first place in the 500-yard freestyle, an event Ipsen usually dominates but did not swim in Friday.
For the NC State women, four different swimmers all won two events. Senior Hannah Moore dominated the distance freestyle events, as she normally does, capturing first in both the 1,000 and 500 free. Freshman Tamila Holub finished second in both events.
Junior Elise Haan won both the 100 and 200-yard backstroke events, while senior Krista Duffield dominated the sprint freestyles with first-place finishes in the 50 and 100 free. Freshman Julia Poole added two wins of her own, in the 200-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard individual medley.
For the Tar Heels, Caroline Baldwin was the top performer, winning the 100 free and finishing second in the 100 back.
On the diving side of the dual, things were not as friendly for the Wolfpack. The Tar Heels had the top performer in three of the four diving heats. On the men’s side, Sean Burston and Gregory Duncan each had a first and a second-place finish. The Pack’s one diving win came in the women’s 3-meter, as sophomore Madeline Kline posted a winning score of 320.85.
This was the last dual meet of the season, as NC State will participate in the Carolina College Nike Invitational next weekend before heading into ACC and NCAA Championship season.
