Junior swimmer Anna Linkenauger competes in the 200 yard butterfly during the Oct. 3 Red and White Scrimage in the Casey Nataorium (Photo by Chris Sanchez)
Pack women look to veterans for guidance
The women’s swimming and diving team, looking to build upon the success of the Red/White scrimmage meet last weekend, is preparing to start off the 2008-09 regular season this weekend with meets against Miami and UMBC.
The team’s lineup has been re-shaped in the off season, losing two seniors and gaining a standout group of eight freshmen. Erica Smith, a senior in mathematics, said she felt good about how the preseason scrimmage went.
“The Red and White scrimmage went well. It was the first time that we were able to see the new freshmen swim in competition with us,” Smith said. “It was good to be able to compare them and ourselves to others early on.”
Sophomore Ashley Richter is excited to see what the freshmen girls are able to produce and how the team will build on the new talent.
“We’ve got a great group of girls coming up this year,” she said. “They are putting up some fast times which is promising for the development of our team.”
The team will have a busy season this year, including 10 scheduled meets, six at home, before the ACC championships in late February.
With U.S. swimming such a hit this summer at the Beijing Olympics, and with former Wolfpack men’s swimmer Cullen Jones being such a standout, the team hopes to build off of the rise in interest in the sport. Associate head coach Jacqui McLaughlin thinks the Olympic success of Jones will be great for N.C. State swimming and fan attendance at the meets.
“It’s no surprise after watching Cullen Jones in the 400 relay that there’s a lot more interest in swimming. We want students and fans to remember that there is a lot of excitement going on during an N.C. State swim meet,” McLaughlin said Tuesday after practice. “The Olympics aren’t the only place to get that kind of great action.”
McLaughlin is also excited to see what the freshmen women are able to produce for the team.
“We have a diverse freshmen class that gives us a lot of depth and flexibility. Honestly they’re some of the best freshmen girls in the ACC.”