After a highly successful 2014-2015 season, the NC State swimming and diving team started off its season this weekend with the first ever Wolfpack Games, held inside Casey Aquatic Center.
The meet was unlike any typical competition or the Red and White Scrimmages from years past. Instead, the Wolfpack Games offered a unique and exciting twist on the previous inner squad meet.
“We normally do a Red and White meet every season, and I feel like when the fans come it’s the same old, same old,” head coach Braden Holloway said. “I wanted to spice it up and surprise them.”
Although typical events took place, several other competitions differentiated the meet from the past Red and White Scrimmages. The meet not only provided this season’s swimmers with a chance to compete, but it also engaged fans in a fun and entertaining environment.
“I wanted to tempt fans to get out here even more and get even more people because they don’t always know what it really is; more awareness on campus of our team,” Holloway said.
The team has seen much success during the past few years after a long stretch of struggle, but awareness of the team’s successes hasn’t quite followed suit.
“We have a lot of great videos that people put together for us, and I just wanted to start the season off a little different and with a lot of hype and just ramp it up right out of the gates,” Holloway said.
More than 800 students, fans, family and alumni came out to support the team and demonstrated how it has grown so much in the past few years under Holloway’s leadership.
“It was awesome,” Holloway said. “I was actually shocked at how many people got here, especially with the rain. It’s exciting to see the support that we have, and we’re going to need it this year. We have a really tough schedule, to go after some of the top teams ahead of us. It’s a good start for us. “
Among the alumni who returned back to their old swimming grounds was Olympian and former NC State swimmer Cullen Jones.
“It’s such an evolution from the building itself to the team,” Jones said. “It’s so different from even my era. We’ve got people from all over the country, and they’re looking at the Pack to represent, so that’s really cool. I’m an alumni. I want to see the best for the team.”
Although Jones is busy training himself, he believes in the program and how Holloway is building it up.
“The best thing I can do is definitely motivate while I’m on deck,” Jones said. “Braden and I have been friends for a really long time, and anytime he wants me to come back and help, I’m definitely jumping back for that. I see the guys and the ladies on the deck all the time, and I’m always trying to be encouraging as much as possible, and teach them the things that maybe I didn’t know at their age.”
Alumni are important to the team, and Holloway understands and appreciates what they bring to the program.
“The role that alumni play is huge,” he said. “They bring tradition back every single time they show up. They’re part of it. They created this, these guys and these girls. This is the biggest alumni group for women we’ve ever had. These kids go through a lot. We ask them to do a lot: school, swimming, weightlifting. It’s hard to be a Division I athlete, and having the support from the alumni just makes it worthwhile for them.”
The team hopes to use the momentum from the unique season opener for its first official meet Oct. 2 with the All-North Carolina Invitational in Greensboro.
