The NC State swimming & diving team will resume its season Thursday when it returns to action at the Nike Cup Invitational, hosted by North Carolina in nearby Chapel Hill. The event will run from Nov. 21-23 at UNC’s Maurice J. Koury Natatorium, while platform diving will take place on Saturday at Duke.
Braden Holloway, head coach of the Wolfpack swimming and diving program (Photo Credit: Tim Binning, theswimpictures)
“The Nike Cup is a great competition for the conclusion of our fall competition segment,” said head coach Braden Holloway. “We’ve trained hard throughout the fall and the Nike Cup is our closest representation to what ACC’s are like based on logistics, prelims and finals and the event line-up. It gives them an opportunity to have two chances to make adjustments in their races and dives to continue to learn before the next training segment. It also gives the coaches multiple looks at individuals and guidance we need to review and follow up on throughout each day.”
State will be one of six schools competing in the event, as Duke, East Carolina, Navy, UNC and Old Dominion will join the Wolfpack.
“This is not our peak meet by any means, but it’s our best chance at racing and competing this fall and in a situation where there are multiple teams in a championship format,” Holloway said. “It’s just as much about body awareness through prepping to compete and recovering after events as it is racing.”
Last time out, the Wolfpack men and women each captured a victory against UNC Wilmington. The State men cruised to a 180-107 victory over the Seahawks, while the women’s squad downed UNCW by a final tally of 166-112. Sophomore Christian McCurdy led the men’s squad with a pair of victories in the 500 freestyle (4:31.74) and the 1000 freestyle (9:26.24), respectively. On the women’s side, the Wolfpack was led by Hannah Freyman with two victories in the 100 free (50.94) and the 100 backstroke (55.72).
Last year, NC State posted first-place finishes on the men’s side, as well as the women’s.
“I am looking for our team to compete hard and smart,” Holloway stated. “I want to leave this meet knowing more of our program than entering this meet.”
The meet is set to begin with preliminaries at 10 a.m. each day, with finals scheduled for 5 p.m.
This release was provided to SwimSwam courtesy of NC State Swimming and Diving.