After an easy win over UNC-Chapel Hill on Wednesday, the Wolfpack returned to the pool this weekend for a two-day dual meet against Tennessee. The No. 3 women beat the lady Vols handedly by a score of 220-178. The No. 4 men followed suit, defeating No. 17 Tennessee with a final score of 231.5-169.5.
The meet was split up across two days of competition. On day one, the best of NC State’s talented roster duked it out with the Volunteers for scoring positions. On day two, some new recruits made their NCAA debut in an exhibition session, for which overall placements wouldn’t score any points. Regardless, the atmosphere was electric across both days of competition.
Friday night started off with a bang — with crowds welcomed back into Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center for the first time in over a year, the stands were packed with Wolfpack fans itching to see some of NC State’s best athletes perform well in the first dual meet of the season.
“It was just so cool to have the environment and have all the alumni be here,” said senior Kylee Alons. “I can honestly say it was one of the most hype meets, and it honestly just made me even more excited because I know that it’s something that will help us continue.”
NC State set the tone right away with first-place finishes in both 200-yard medley relay events. Composed of Alons, juniors Katharine Berkoff and Heather MacCausland, and senior Sophie Hansson, the women’s A-relay absolutely crushed the field, touching nearly three seconds ahead of the rest of the field. The men quickly followed suit, posting an impressive 1:24.92 to cap off the first event of the meet.
The Wolfpack garnered its first sweep early on in the session with the culmination of the men’s 1000-yard freestyle. Junior Ross Dant and sophomores James Plage and Will Gallant were out ahead of the field by the 20-lap mark and only increased their lead from there. Dant touched the wall first in 9:02.55, and Plage and Gallant soon followed, cementing an early dominance by the distance crew.
“Every day is a battle, right?” Dant said. “We have four or five guys that, no matter what you do, you’re going to have someone to race. It doesn’t matter if you go first, second, or third. You’re going to be racing someone of your caliber or better. That vibe has been very, very conducive to fast racing and getting ready for training like this.”
Although Tennessee pulled off an upset in the women’s 200-yard freestyle, NC State packed another 1-2 punch in the men’s 200-yard freestyle. Sophomore Luke Miller, arguably one of the best mid-distance freestylers on the team, pulled into an early lead and didn’t falter. At 17 years old, freshman Sam Hoover may be one of the youngest swimmers on the team, but he certainly didn’t disappoint thanks to an impressive second-place finish in the 200 freestyle.
The sprint queens of NC State swimming showed off next in the 100-yard events. Berkoff kicked things into gear with a blistering 52.15 in the 100-yard backstroke, finishing first by a landslide. Hansson soon followed in the 100-yard breaststroke, making a strong push in the final 50 yards to finish first by over half a second.
Across the diving events, five divers scored points for the Wolfpack. Junior Helen Synnot and sophomore Ashton Zuburg placed second and fifth, respectively, in the women’s 3-meter springboard event, racking up a total of five points. On the men’s side, breakout freshman Peter Edin placed second overall in the men’s 1-meter springboard event, pulling in four points for NC State. Juniors Bayne Bennet and Patrick O’Brien placed third and fifth, respectively.
Freshman Aiden Hayes gave it his all in the 200-yard butterfly, absolutely dominating in the first half, yet ultimately falling short around the 150-yard mark. There’s a lot of talent riding on the backs of NC State’s batch of freshman and new transfers this year, although there may be an adjustment period given the electric atmosphere and high-caliber competitors.
“I think right now, our freshmen are a little all over the place,” said head coach Braden Holloway. “Some are off hot and running, some are struggling a little bit with adapting. Everything’s new, they’re understanding the values of our team, and the culture of our team is always a step for any freshman.”
Freshman David Curtiss and juniors Noah Henderson and Nyls Korstanje pulled off another 1-2-3 punch in the 50-yard freestyle, all three finishing sub-20 in front of an electric crowd from start to finish. Minutes later, an incredible back-half effort from junior Bartosz Piszczorowicz, senior Giovanni Izzo and Miller in the 100-yard freestyle resulted in a top-four finish from all three swimmers.
NC State continued to dominate the first-place position throughout the next several events. Berkoff and Hansson easily won the 200-yard backstroke and breaststroke events, respectively, and the Wolfpack men scored yet another sweep in the 200-yard backstroke.
In the men’s 500-yard freestyle, Dant, Plage, Gallant and graduate student Eric Knowles hit a 1-2-3-4 sweep. Knowles had the lead early on in the race, but ultimately, it was Dant’s 4:24.91 that cemented another first-place finish for the distance star. Tennessee couldn’t hold a candle to NC State’s lineup, their top finisher touching the wall over three seconds after Knowles’ fourth-place finish.
A pair of top-two finishes defined the 100-yard butterfly events, led by Alons and Korstanje. Korstanje, who competed in the 100-meter butterfly at the 2020 Olympics, clocked in at an impressive 46.41. Alons herself was sub-53 and finished over half a second ahead of her teammate Arens, who touched the wall at 53.33 for second.
To close out the meet, the women pulled off an impressive upset in the 400-yard freestyle relay, out-touching Tennessee’s A-relay by a mere 0.14. On the other hand, both of the men’s relay teams pulled ahead early in the race, easily finishing 1-2 to end the session on a sweet note to a crowd of excited Wolfpack fans.
“I think [the atmosphere] is intense, it’s constant, it’s loud,” Holloway said. “It’s just great being back here, seeing the fans. Seeing them just sustains the Pack.”
The Wolfpack will be competing next on Oct. 22 in Auburn, Alabama for the Auburn Tri Meet.
