Behind a podium finish from freshman Sophie Hansson in the 200-yard breaststroke, the NC State women’s swimming team tied its highest-ever NCAA Championships finish Saturday night in Austin, Texas, placing seventh to match its 2017 finish.
The Wolfpack finished the national meet with 187.5 points, 2.5 clear of eighth-place Tennessee and just half a point behind sixth-place Virginia. Stanford won the national title for the third year in a row, picking up 456.5 team points over the week.
NC State had a total of eight All-American honors and six honorable mentions, including two of each Saturday night. After an opening night Thursday that featured four All-American finishes and two honorable mentions, the Wolfpack earned two bronze medals Friday.
Hansson picked up one of those bronze medals in the 100-yard breastroke, and doubled her individual medal total Saturday night. After finishing third in the 200 breast prelims Saturday morning, Hansson swam a personal-record time of 2:06.18 in the final to win the second bronze medal of her impressive freshman NCAAs, and earn All-American status in the event.
Sophomore Julia Poole also competed in the 200 breast prelims Saturday morning, tying for 41st with a time of 2:11.29.
Junior Ky-Lee Perry also garnered All-American status Saturday night, placing seventh in the 100-yard freestyle with a personal-best time of 47.43. Perry improved her preliminary time of 47.51 by .08 seconds, moving her from an eighth-place qualifying time to a seventh-place finish.
In the 200-yard backstroke, freshman Kylee Alons wrapped up her individual events with an honorable mention All-American. Alons tied for fourth in the ‘B’ final of the event, finishing tied for 12th overall with a personal-record 1:52.43.
Alons was one of four Wolfpack swimmers to compete in the 200 back. Freshman Emma Muzzy placed 20th in prelims, four spots off of a finals spot. Senior teammate Elise Haan finished one spot back of Muzzy, and sophomore Kate Moore placed 26th.
NC State also had four swimmers participate in the 1,650-yard freestyle Saturday, highlighted by a 22nd-place finish from senior Anna Jahns. Junior Summer Finke placed 25th, followed by sophomore Tamila Holub in 36th and junior Makayla Sargent in 37th.
The Pack wrapped up its competition in the 400-yard freestyle relay, placing second in the ‘B’ final for an overall finish of 10th. The relay team of Perry, Alons, Hansson and sophomore Olivia Calegan finished in 3:12.11 to garner honorable mention All-American honors.
The attention will shift to the Wolfpack men’s team now, which will be in action at NCAAs next week.
