Following a season in which N.C. State went undefeated at home, the No. 20 Wolfpack men’s swimming and diving team finished second at the ACC Men’s Championships, which concluded Saturday in Greensboro. The second-place finish is the best finish for the Wolfpack men since 1996.
In the four-day competition, State’s swimmers participated in 21 events and brought home medals in 18 events, including seven first-place finishes. The Pack also broke 15 school records at the Championships.
State ended the weekend with a score of 1226, just 38.5 points behind No. 18 Virginia Tech. The Pack and Hokies dominated the 11-team field, as No. 13 UNC-Chapel Hill finished third with only 995 points.
“I’m proud of our Wolfpack men, moving up the ladder to finish second in the ACC this year,” head coach Braden Holloway said. “That was a great performance, a great team effort. I know we were close to that championship. It was right out of our reach.
“Hats off to Virginia Tech, a very well-balanced team. Their execution was a little bit too much for us.”
As usual, the relay stole the show for the Wolfpack men, as State claimed gold medals in four of the five championship relay events and set new school records in all five races.
“I have not seen this type of performance in the pool in a very long time,” Holloway said. “It was unreal to see and unreal to be a part of. Once they got going, they just went.”
N.C. State’s relay squads also made ACC history, breaking conference records in the 200-yard medley relay, 200-yard free relay and 400-yard free relay. The Wolfpack’s swimmers shattered the previous ACC record in the 400-yard free relay by over a second.
“The 400 free relay is a great event for us,” Holloway said. “For us to go out and break the ACC record in that event really sums up our weekend.”
The 100-yard freestyle was the Pack’s strongest individual event in the competition, as the Pack placed sophomore Simonas Bilis at first, as well as men at third and fourth in the A-event. State continued its dominance in the event’s second heat, as members of the Pack claimed first and second in in the B-race.
“We scored a lot of points in the 100 free,” Holloway said. “That event gave us a chance, so hats off to [associate head] coach Todd [Desorbo] and all those sprinters.”
Sophomore Christian McCurdy had the biggest individual weekend for the Pack, racking up two gold medals in 400-yard individual medley and 200-yard butterfly. McCurdy’s time in the 200-yard butterfly, 1:41.72, set a new ACC record and qualified him for an automatic NCAA bid.
“For Christian McCurdy to walk away with another gold and an ACC record in the 200 fly set us up to finish on a good note,” Holloway said.
The No. 21 State women’s swimming and diving team also had a strong showing at its ACC Championships, which stretched from Feb. 19-22. The Pack women finished fourth in the eight-team competition with a score of 950, only 22 points behind third place. The fourth place finish marked the best conference finish for the State women since 1993.
State’s women’s 200-yard free relay team earned the lone gold medal for the Pack in the four-day event, setting a new conference record in the process. Plenty of NCSU history was made, as the women broke 15 school records in Greensboro.
Holloway said he appreciated the support of alumni and parents during both the men’s and women’s tournaments.
“Their support this weekend was overwhelming,” Holloway said. “From the cheering in the stands to the calls, texts and tweets that helps keep our guys ignited.”
