Courtesy: NC State Athletics
RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State swimming and diving teams will match up against their first conference opponent of the season Saturday as they make the short trip to Durham, N.C. to take on Duke. The first diving session is set to begin at 10 a.m., and the swimming events are scheduled to start at 11 a.m. inside the Taishoff Aquatic Pavilion.
MEET INFO:
Wolfpack fans who plan on traveling to the meet should leave extra time to get to Durham due to multiple events being hosted by Duke Saturday. For parking and traffic information specific to the weekend, click here.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Wolfpack started the season with a dominating sweep over South Carolina last weekend, as NC State’s men outscored the Gamecocks 198.5-99.5 and the Wolfpack women tallied a 197-101 victory. Between the two squads, NC State picked up first-place finishes in 23 events and earned 10 podium sweeps on the evening
PACK IN THE POLLS:
Both NC State squads were ranked in the national top 15 to start the season as the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) released its preseason poll last week. The Wolfpack men checked in at No. 4 overall, and the Pack women landed at a tie for No. 11 in the nation. The next set of rankings is set to be released Oct. 24.
STRONG START:
After a historic 2017-18 season, the Wolfpack did not miss a beat as it started its 2018-19 campaign. Many swimmers’ times from NC State’s season opener sit among some of the best in the nation through the early stages of the season.
The Wolfpack’s female distance swimmers posted the top-two 1000-yard freestyle times across collegiate swimming in the season opener. Tamila Holub (9:49.57) and Makayla Sargent (9:52.22) picked up first and second-place finishes, respectively, against the Gamecocks.
Two of the Pack’s national champions from the 2017-18 season also currently own the nation’s top times in their respective events. Andreas Vazaios‘ 200-yard individual medley time (1:46.65) was good for a first-place finish against the Gamecocks, as well as the nation’s No. 1 time and an NCAA B mark. Coleman Stewart also posted a win, his in the 100-yard butterfly, with a 47.14 time that ranks atop collegiate swimming.
Ky-lee Perry made her return to dual meet action with a win in the 50-yard freestyle, clocking a time that meets NCAA B standards. She touched the wall in 22.23, which currently ranks atop the ACC and fourth in the nation.
Freshman Nyls Korstanje also found success in the event in his first meet as a member of the Pack. His 50-yard freestyle time of 19.97 also ranks first in the ACC and fourth in the nation.
SWIMMER OF THE WEEK:
Vazaios garnered honors as the ACC Men’s Swimmer of the Week after a season-opening performance that saw the senior captain pick up three individual wins and a first-place finish as part of the Wolfpack’s 400 freestyle relay team. He was the squad’s top scorer against the Gamecocks.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS:
Duke’s women enter the matchup ranked 22nd in the nation, with the team fielding six returners who qualified for and competed at the 2018 NCAA Championships.
The Blue Devils opened their season at Virginia Tech last weekend and split the dual, as the Duke women won by a 172-123 score while the Blue Devil men fell to the Hokies 178.5-121.5. Duke’s women won all but two individual events against Virginia Tech, and the Blue Devil divers took first place in three of the diving events.
NC State and Duke last saw both its men’s and women’s teams match up in the same meet in 2013, when the Pack swept the Blue Devils inside the Casey Aquatic Center in Raleigh.
UP NEXT:
After facing Duke, the Wolfpack will prepare to send select members of the team to the inaugural ACC/Big Ten Challenge. In addition to having student-athletes who will be selected for the squad, head coach Braden Holloway will serve as the coach for the ACC men’s team at the interconference meet. Competition is slated for the weekend of Nov. 10-11.