School may have been out for NC State’s swim and dive athletes, but several kept plenty busy over the break. From Australia to Athens, Georgia, many of the team’s best and brightest competed across the globe. Let’s take a look at the highlights.
FINA World Championships — Melbourne, Australia
Four current students and three Wolfpack alums competed at FINA World Swimming Championships in Melbourne, Australia. Of the group, sophomore David Curtiss was NC State’s lone representative on Team USA — notably, senior and backstroke phenom Katharine Berkoff was missing from this year’s roster after competing in 2021.
That being said, head coach Braden Holloway led the United States to bring home 36 medals — 17 gold, 13 silver, and six bronze. NC State’s best finish came from senior Kacper Stokowski, who posted 22.74 in the 50-meter backstroke to take bronze.
USA Diving Winter Nationals — Morgantown, West Virginia
Senior Bayne Bennett represented the Wolfpack at USA Diving Winter Nationals from Dec. 16-18. Competing in both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard events, Bennett’s best finish was a 285.80-point performance in the 1-meter springboard prelims to post 14th.
Georgia Diving Invitational — Athens, Georgia
Twelve divers competed at the Georgia Diving Invitational from Jan. 3-5. On Tuesday, Jan. 3, senior Helene Synnott and sophomore Ashton Zuburg took 11th and 12th, respectively, in the women’s 3-meter prelims to slide into finals. Synnott ultimately took sixth place in the event, posting a score of 328.50.
Later that day, Bennett finished second in the men’s 1-meter prelims, a mere 3.30 points ahead of third-place finisher Emanuel Vazquez of USC. Bennett’s score dropped in the 1-meter finals for a fifth-place finish, but freshman Renato Calderaro took the opportunity to improve upon his prelims score by 22.50 points, taking fourth.
The following morning, junior Mary O’Neill kicked off competition with a 211.20-point showing in the women’s platform prelims to take 11th, barely skating into finals. Calderaro and Bennett finished second and sixth, respectively, in the men’s 3-meter prelims.
In NC State’s lone podium finish of the meet, Calderaro posted a score of 345.25 to take bronze in the men’s 3-meter finals.
For the remainder of the meet, two members of the diving team placed in the top-12: senior Patrick O’Brien, who finished ninth in the men’s platform final, and Synnott, who took eighth in the women’s 1-meter finals.
NC State will return to the pool on Saturday, Jan. 14 for a dual meet against Duke in Durham. Competition is slated to start at 11 a.m.
