ACC Weekly Recap: NC State Sweeps South Carolina to Open Season; Duke Splits Virginia Tech

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

NC State Swimming and Diving picked up a key non-conference win over South Carolina on the road. NC State is returning this season as the (#4/11) Wolfpack took down the (#24/NR) Gamecocks.

(NR/22) Duke split with Virginia Tech in an ACC matchup in Christiansburg. The Duke women beat the Hokies while the Virginia Tech men beat the Blue Devils.

NC State vs. South Carolina

RESULTS

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Wolfpack opened its 2018-19 campaign with a dominating sweep over South Carolina as the NC State men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams both picked up victories over the Gamecocks Friday evening.

Swimming in the Carolina Natatorium, the Pack men outscored South Carolina 198.5-99.5 in their first dual meet of the season, and the Wolfpack women won took a 197-101 season-opening victory. Between the two squads, NC State took first place in 23 events and earned 10 podium sweeps on the evening.

QUOTES

“This was a really good victory for the women, probably one of the most diverse scoring outings for our team. I’m very proud of the women. We filled up some holes from last year and have some great depth in certain areas. Those medley relays got us off to a really great start. The highlights for our women were not just the veterans who have been to NCAAs, but a lot of it had to do with our freshman class and our newcomers. Makayla Sargent did a really great job with a hard triple. Emma Muzzy and Kylee Alons were two big-time freshmen who had great showings today, as well as Sophie Hansson. The other thing that we showed across the board was that we didn’t really have any bad events where we truly struggled. We stayed strong throughout. The energy got stronger as we went, and I think the women came in and wanted to race and see what they had as a team. They’re walking away feeling good about something to build on. We still have things to work out, but I’m looking forward to seeing things expand more for us.”

“The men had a solid meet. I wanted to see a little bit better, and I know we have a strong leadership with our seniors. We moved a few guys around in a few events, which was nice to see what they’re able to achieve. Overall, we performed well, but I think the men themselves wanted to be better. I think they expect more out of themselves, so we’re going to go back to training and get back to work. Hopefully, we can come out next week more advanced and better off than we are right now. That’s going to be the goal,”-Braden Holloway.

RELAYS

Elise Haan, Sophie Hansson, Sirena Rowe and Ky-lee Perry teamed up to take first for the 200 medley relay in 1:38.44
Coleman Stewart, Daniel Graber, Justin Ress and Jacob Molacek finished on top on the men’s side of the race, touching the wall in 1:26.73.
The men also picked up the win in the 400 freestyle relay to close out the meet as Cobe Garcia, Noah Hensley, Justin Ress and Andreas Vazaios clocked a 3:01.29 for the victory.

NOTABLES

The Wolfpack’s men were led by senior Andreas Vazaios, who continued to show his versatility across multiple events. He took first in all three of his individual events, as he competed in the 200 freestyle (1:37.63), the 200 backstroke (1:47.36) and the 200 IM (1:46.65). Vazaios’s 200 IM time is the fastest in the country so far this season.
Freshman Nyls Korstanje picked up wins in both the 50 freestyle (19.97) and the 100 freestyle (44.01) to start his NC State career. He became the first freshman in program history to clock a sub-20 second 50 freestyle time in his opening semester with the Wolfpack.
Coleman Stewart won the 100 fly in 47.14 as he now leads the nation in that event. Justin Ress continued momentum from a successful summer with the USA National Team, taking first place in the 100 backstroke with a time of 48.26.
Freshman Emma Muzzy and junior transfer Makayla Sargent were the top scorers for the Wolfpack women, picking up two first-place finishes apiece on the night. Muzzy swept the backstroke events, and she was also the Wolfpack’s top finisher in the 200 IM, where she placed second. Sargent made her Wolfpack debut with a second-place finish in the 1,000 freestyle and went on to win the 200 butterfly (1:58.78) and the 500 freestyle (4:50.46).
Freshman Kylee Alons took first in the 200 freestyle (1:48.44) and went on to win the 100 butterfly (54.23) later in the meet. Also making her Wolfpack debut, freshman Sophie Hansson picked up victories in both the 100 breaststroke (1:01.13) and the 200 breaststroke (2:12.55), with both of those times ranking fourth in program history.
Junior Ky-lee Perry made her return to regular season action as she won the 50 freestyle (22.23) and the 100 freestyle (48.64) with times that both currently rank among the top three in the nation. Sirena Rowe joined her, placing second in both of those events in her first meet in Wolfpack uniform after redshirting last season.
Tamila Holub also impressed among NC State’s returners. She finished in the top two of both of her distance freestyle events, including a win in the 1,000 freestyle. Her time of 9:49.57 is currently the nation’s fastest.

Duke vs. Virginia Tech

RESULTS

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – The 22nd-ranked Duke women opened the season with an impressive showing, downing the Virginia Tech women by a 172-123 score in ACC dual meet action. The Blue Devil men fell to the Hokies, 178.5-121.5.

The women’s squad picked up wins in all but two individual events Saturday at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center and the Blue Devil men and women swept all four relays. Duke’s divers registered first-place finishes in three of the four events for the meet.

Quotes

“It was a great way to get the season started, with a victory for the women,” said head coach Dan Colella. “They came out and won the 200 medley relay and it just didn’t stop from there. They really established a presence early on and maintained it throughout the meet. Really excited for how our freshmen stood up and raced today in their first collegiate meet.”

“Today was a great start,” Colella said. “From the first meet of the season there are always things to learn and build on. We’re just excited about where we are for this time of the year … Team energy was great. Everyone was really supportive of one another. We’re looking forward to our meet next weekend. It’s going to be a big challenge with the Wolfpack coming to town, but we’ll just go back to work and look to get better and get ready for that meet.”

Notables:

Several Blue Devil freshmen turned in strong performances in their collegiate debuts, including Easop Lee, who claimed the women’s 200 (1:50.01) and 500-yard freestyle (4:59.39). Fellow rookie Melissa Pish cracked the program’s all-time performance list with a 10:05.19 swim to take the women’s 1,000 freestyle.
Pish joined Lee, senior Maddie Hess and junior Alyssa Marsh on the winning 400 freestyle relay (3:23.99).
Virginia Tech’s freshman also showed up big for the Hokies with Brennen Doss taking a win in the 1000 (9:33.34) and Blake Manoff winning the 200 (1:51.30) and 100 fly (49.38).
Senior Norbert Szabo won two events for the Hokie men in the 200 IM (1:50.13) and 100 breast (56.27).

Duke Swimming and Diving and NC State Swimming and Diving contributed to this post.

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