Fresh off an undefeated season and an ACC Championship title, the NC State men’s swimming team will begin competition today in Iowa City, Iowa for the NCAA Championship meet.
This season, the Pack proved itself as a top program in the country and, with one championship already in the books, boasts a strong presence to push for more silverware at the NCAAs.
“They’ve had some success the last two years at NCAAs being top 15,” head coach Braden Holloway said about his team. “They’re going to have many more opportunities to score. We have more individual opportunities besides relays. I think they know, ‘why stop now?’ Let’s just have the year they dream about.”
Fourteen swimmers will represent the Pack inside the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center at the University of Iowa, led by seniors Stephan Coetzer, David Williams and John Newell.
Joining them are juniors Simonas Bilis, Jason Deana and Christian McCurdy; sophomores Soren Dahl, Andreas Schiellerup, Adam Linker and Derek Hren; and freshmen Ben Cono, Ryan Held, Anton Ipsen and Hennessey Stuart.
Freshman Harrison Mitchell also represented NC State at the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships in Athens, Georgia, March 9-11.
The swimming program has picked up speed and intensity since Holloway’s first season as head coach four years ago. Last season, NC State finished within the top 15, in 13th place, with California, Texas and Florida placing at the top. The Pack has higher goals for this year; however, especially after the team’s dominant performance at the ACC Championship.
According to NCAA rankings, NC State is ranked seventh heading into the national championships. The top competitors for the Wolfpack include the number one ranked Texas, California, Georgia, Florida and Michigan, who finish out the top five teams, respectively.
The Wolfpack relay teams have been a strong point for NC State all season, especially at the ACC Championships where the men won four out the five relays.
Other notable events for the upcoming meet are the freestyle sprint events where the 2015 ACC Most Valuable Swimmer of the meet, Simonas Bilis, has dominated throughout the season. Both Bilis and his teammate Ryan Held will sprint for the Pack in the 100-yard free, where Bilis is ranked No. 3 and Held at No. 9.
McCurdy had a great 2014 NCAA showing as he placed fourth overall in the 200- butterfly and currently holds the seventh seed entering this year’s National Championship.
Newcomers Ipsen and Stuart enter the meet for NC State coming off strong debuts in the ACC Championships. Ipsen has dominated distance events this season, and swept the ACC distance events.
The Birkenrod, Denmark, native will look to continue his top-drawer performances on the national level as a No. 7 seed in both of his events. Stuart enters his NCAA introduction as a No. 2 seed for the 200-backstroke after claiming the ACC title in the event.
The meet will consist of three days of competition with both preliminary and finals sessions each day. Prelims begin at 11:00 a.m., while finals start at 7:00 p.m.
The Wolfpack has earned the ACC Championship title 25 times in the program’s history, with this year’s win after a 23-year championship dry spell, which could spell good news for the team at the NCAAs.
