What happened?

The Wolfpack finished third overall at the Georgia Tech Invitational Nov. 16-18. On Friday, the women were in fifth place, but strong performances boosted them to third and they didn’t falter. Associate head coach Jacqui McLaughlin said the coaches were pleased with the women’s performance and the results were indicative of hard work put in throughout the summer and the season thus far.

“We beat Georgia Tech, Miami and Duke, which are all in our conference,” she said. “I hope how we did at Georgia Tech is an indication of how well we will do in ACCs. We have some good momentum going on right now and we want to continue to build on that and get to ACC’s and show the conference what we are all about.”

Who’s Hot?

Junior Erica Smith and sophomore Anna Linkenauger both came close to breaking school records at Georgia Tech. McLaughlin said freshmen Jennifer Kopenitz and Jessica Ward have also had stand-out performances thus far.

Who’s Not?

Linkenauger said the weaknesses continue to be the sprint and long-distance freestyle events, but depth in other areas have helped State pull ahead.

“We are working harder than we have ever worked, and I’ve only been here for a year, but I definitely see a difference,” she said. “As a team, we did an excellent job, but there is always room for improvement.”

What’s Next?

After a two week break, the Pack will return to work against Virginia Tech on Dec. 1 at Casey Natatorium.

“It’s going to be a tough meet, but there are definitely things that we can do to build on our momentum and work towards our goals [ACC’s and NCAA’s],” McLaughlin said.