Women’s ACC Championships: NC State Has Prolific Final Morning Session; Comerford Sets ACC Record

Photo Courtesy: NC State Athletics

The North Carolina State Wolfpack put eight swimmers into championship finals during the final morning of prelims at the women’s ACC championships in Atlanta. Leading nine-time defending ACC champion Virginia 776.5 to 750 heading into the final day, the Wolfpack look to be on the verge of winning the program’s first ACC team title since 1982.

Virginia won’t give up easily, though, and the Cavaliers have four A-finalists this evening, along with Leah Smith going in the 1650 free. Louisville also had a strong morning, securing eight championship final spots as the Cardinals are now favored to finish third.

Going for her third title of the meet after already winning the 200 IM and 100 back, NC State’s Alexia Zevnik paced the field in the prelims of the 200 back. She posted a time of 1:51.03 for the fourth-fastest time in the country this season and the top time of the morning by more than two seconds.

Virginia Tech’s Klaudia Nazieblo qualified second in 1:53.04, while NC State put two more swimmers in the championship final with Elise Haan (third, 1:53.47) and Mackenzie Glover (sixth, 1:54.60). Notre Dame’s Alice Trueth (1:53.86) and North Carolina’s Hellen Moffitt (1:53.96) qualified fourth and fifth, respectively, while Virginia Tech’s Fiona Donnelly (1:55.17) and Louisville’s Alina Kendzior (1:55.19) secured the outside lanes for the final.

After posting an ACC record-time of 1:41.70 in the 200 free Wednesday night, Mallory Comerford blasted another ACC record in the 100 free prelims. She posted a time of 47.00 to break Kelsi Worrell’s conference record of 47.30 set last season. Comerford ranks second in the country this season with that time, and she could chase Olivia Smoliga’s Georgia Tech pool record of 46.70 in the final.

Comerford was actually third in her heat at the halfway point, trailing NC State’s Ky-Lee Perry and UNC’s Carol Baldwin, but she stormed home in 24.02 to win by more than bodylength. Baldwin ended up posting a time of 47.96 for the third overall seed, while Perry qualified sixth in 48.47.

In addition to Perry, NC State put three other swimmers into the final with second seed Courtney Caldwell (47.89), fourth seed Lotta Nevalainen (48.12) and seventh seed Natalie Labonge (48.62). A second Tar Heel, Sarah Hitchens, qualified fifth in 48.36, and Louisville’s Casey Fanz finished eighth in 48.71.

NC State picked up another top seed in the 200 breast as Kayla Brumbaum finished in 2:08.12. That cut more than a second and a half off her previous lifetime best of 2:09.89 and secured lane four as the Wolfpack prepare to battle for a conference championship.

Louisville’s Andrea Cottrell qualified second in 2:08.64, and last year’s ACC champion in the event, Virginia’s Laura Simon, picked up the third seed with her 2:10.24. Louisville actually went three up in this event as Rachael Bradford-Feldman qualified fifth in 2:10.49, and teammate Lauren James finished sixth in 2:10.74. Another Cardinal, Silvia Guerra, just missed out on a spot in the A-final with her ninth-place time of 2:11.48.

Pitt’s Lina Rathsack qualified fourth in 2:10.43, and Florida State’s Christina Loh Yen Ling (2:11.30) and Virginia’s Vivian Tafuto (2:11.45) also made the top eight.

In the final swimming preliminary event, UNC’s Sarah Koucheki led the way into the final of the 200 fly. She posted a time of 1:54.27 to earn lane four, while Virginia Tech’s Klaudia Nazieblo touched out Virginia’s Kaitlyn Jones in the final heat, 1:54.68 to 1:54.74, and those two are seeded second, and third, respectively, for the final.

Another Cavalier, Jen Marrkand, qualified fourth in 1:55.10, followed by the Louisville duo of Grace Oglesby (1:55.24) and Abbie Houck (1:56.82), UNC’s Catherine Hulsey (1:57.15) and Notre Dame’s Nicole Smith (1:57.35).

Results

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