The men’s swimming and diving team continued its undefeated season as they took home the ACC Championship in Atlanta, Georgia this past weekend. The win marks the program’s 25th ACC Championship and the first one since 1992. The men finished the four-day meet over 150 points ahead of second-place Louisville, while Virginia Tech placed third overall with 1,123 points.
The Wolfpack broke several records and junior Simonas Bilis was named the conference’s Most Valuable Swimmer at the meet. Bilis swept all three freestyle sprint events, earned NCAA’s cuts in each swim and participated in every one of NC State’s winning relays. In the 50 free he finished the finals in 19.07, took home first with a 41.94 in the 100, and finished out the sweep with a 1:33.62 in the 200.
The 200 yard freestyle proved to be a very strong event for the Wolfpack. NC State freshman, Ryan Held followed in second with a time of 1:34.15 and senior, David Williams rounded out third place in 1:34.18. Held’s and Williams’ times also granted them NCAA invitations.
NC State made a huge statement in the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center by winning nearly every relay event at the meet.
The men started out with a first place finish in the 200 medley relay where sophomores, Andreas Schiellerup, Derek Hren, Soren Dahl, and senior David Williams finished the race in 1:24.07.
The Wolfpack also finished first in the 800, 400, and 200 freestyle relays, while also breaking the conference and ACC meet records in all three events. The squad of Bilis, Held, Dahl, and Williams earned the fastest time in the country in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 2:48.92. NC State was out-touched in the 400 medley by less than sixth tenths of a second to Louisville.
Two of NC State’s freshmen also made their marks on the ACC Championship meet with strong individual performances.
Freshman Anton Ipsen had a pair of impressive individual swims on behalf of the Wolfpack. Ipsen finished first in both the 500 and 1,650 yard freestyle with the respective times of 4:13.87 and 14:48.52. In the 1,650, Ipsen defeated the runner up by over nine seconds
Hennessey Stuart won the 200 backstroke for the Pack in his first conference championship meet with a time of 1:39.37 in the finals. Stuart’s time improved from his preliminary session swim of 1:39.73 where he originally earned a conference, ACC meet and school record.
Other notable swims of the meet include senior Stephan Coetzer’s and junior Christian McCurdy’s second place finishes. Coetzer earned himself an NCAA invitation in his 200 yard individual medley with the time of 1:44.04. McCurdy placed fourth in the 200 IM behind teammates Coetzer and Dahl. In his 400 yard individual medley, McCurdy was barely out-touched by Virginia Tech’s sophomore Robert Owen. His time of 3:41.92 gives McCurdy an NCAA ‘A’ cut.
Both the men and women’s teams will continue the postseason as they prepare for the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. The women’s championship will be held in Greensboro, North Carolina, on March 19-21. The men will travel to Iowa City, Iowa, on March 26-28 for their meet.
