NC State Wins Third Consecutive All-NC Invite Title

Photo Credit: NC State Athletics

GREENSBORO, North Carolina, October 5. The North Carolina State swimming and diving teams won 32 of the 38 events contested over two days to bring home their third-straight All-North Carolina Invitational title yesterday afternoon at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.

NC State Press Release

The NC State swimming & diving team continued its strong opening weekend of the 2014-15 season on Saturday, as the men’s and women’s squad finished first overall for the third straight season at the All-North Carolina Invitational at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.

The women’s squad claimed first-place honors with a two-day total of 1,580 points followed by East Carolina [1,413], Davidson [1,126], Gardner-Webb [883] and Campbell [815]. The men’s team won with a two-day total of 1,681 points followed by ECU [1,251], Davidson [1,061], Gardner-Webb [892] and Queens University of Charlotte [811].

The Wolfpack posted impressive results throughout the weekend, as the squad swept the eight relays contested, as well as the four diving events and won 20 of the 26 swimming events.

Holloway’s Breakdown

On the performance in relay events this weekend:
“Relays are obviously a big focal point for us,” said head coach Braden Holloway. “This early in the season I like to put people in different spots in the order to challenge them and I like to put them in pressure situations. Overall, the relays show the depth of the team right now.”

On the fan support and help hosting the meet:
“We’re real happy with the help we get to put on this meet. It’s a fun meet for a lot of teams to come and our parents do a great job stepping up and helping out with hospitality and timing. I’d also like to thank the officials and the Greensboro Aquatic Center for letting us host this meet each and every year.”

Wolfpack Relays

The women’s squad opened the morning session by claiming first and second-place honors in the 200-medley relay. The team of Ashlyn Koletic, Kayla Brumbaum, Lauren Rhodes and Lauren Poli touched the wall in a time of 1:42.53 to win the event. On the men’s side, the Pack had four relay teams finish in the top-five of the men’s 200-medley relay, as the quartet of Hennessey Stuart, Derek Hren, John Newell and Simonas Bilis won the event with a time of 1:29.32.

The evening session closed with the men’s and women’s squad winning the 400 freestyle relay. The women’s team of Lotta Nevalainen, Alexia Zevnik, Natalie Labonge and Hannah Freyman combined to win the event in a time of 3:24.58, while the combination of Ryan Held, Bilis, Soren Dahl and Johnson swam the men’s event in a time of 2:58.32 to finish first.

Springboard Action

Redshirt junior Rachel Mumma swept the women’s diving events throughout the weekend, as she paced the field with a score of 286.95 in the three-meter competition to meet the NCAA zone diving standard.

Grant Saale also won his second diving event over the weekend, as he tallied a score of 314.33 on the men’s one-meter. Freshman Harrison Mitchell finished second in the event with a score of 301.95. Saale and Mitchell each met the NCAA zone diving standard.

Karshen’s Knowledge

On the divers performance throughout the weekend:
“I thought the divers did really well this weekend in the first meet of the year,” said head diving coach Josh Karshen. “They were all very solid and very smart. I was happy with how they performed.”

IM Notebook

Anton Ipsen won his second individual medley event of the weekend, as the freshman touched the wall first overall with a time of 3:57.61 in the 400 IM. Ipsen also won the 200 IM on Friday.

Wolfpack Fly

Christian McCurdy cruised to victory in the men’s 200 butterfly, as he met the NCAA `B’ standard and set the meet record with a time of 1:46.09. In addition, John Newell and Austin Snyder finished third and fourth, respectively.

Wolfpack Sprints

The women’s squad swept the top five positions in the 100 freestyle. Zevnik tapped the wall with a 51.03 clocking, while Riki Bonnema [51.13] finished second and Koletic [51.85] tapped the wall in third-place.

On the men’s side, freshman Held won the 100 free with a clocking of 45.24, while Stuart, Colin Ellington and Jason Deana all finished in the top five.

In the men’s 200 free, Johnson finished with a 1:40.02 clocking, while Ellington touched the wall in 1:40.18. Held and Stephen Coetzer also finished in the top-five in the event.

The Great Mile

Rachel Muller won her second event in as many days, as she completed the women’s 1650 freestyle in a time of 16:58.56, while Adam Linker cruised to victory in the men’s mile with a final time of 15:46.74.

Breaststroke Breakdown

Hren continued his terrific weekend, as the sophomore clocked a 55.23 to record a victory in the men’s 100 breaststroke. His time in the event met the NCAA `B’ standard.

Backstroke Notables

Senior Hannah Freyman led the way for the Pack in the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.39 to finish first overall, while Lotta Nevalainen [56.85] finished second and Addisynn Bursch [57.82] placed third in the event.

Up Next

The Wolfpack will open its home slate against Georgia on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 11 a.m. Part of the women’s squad will also be traveling to compete in the Dallas Morning Classic hosted by SMU on Oct. 17 and 18.

Results: All-NC Invite, Day One

Results: All-NC Invite, Day Two

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