ACC Weekly Recap: NC State Tunes Up for Showdown with Texas

Photo Courtesy: NC State Athletics

This weekend’s action around the ACC featured the Louisville Cardinals in action in Knoxville, where they pulled off an impressive sweep of the Volunteers Thursday afternoon. Between Friday and Saturday, Miami, Notre Dame, Pitt, NC State and Duke were all in action, and most impressive were the Wolfpack, whose men and women each cruised to wins as they tuned up for a trip to Austin to face Texas next weekend.

Northwestern at NC State (men only)

The Wolfpack men were back in action for their second dual meet in two weeks Friday afternoon, and again they cruised, topping Northwestern 185-108 and winning every single swimming event. U.S. Olympian Ryan Held eschewed his traditional sprint events, instead winning the 200 free (1:36.19) and 100 fly (47.25) and anchoring NC State’s 400 free relay in a swift 42.90.

NC State’s Anton Ipsen faced off against Northwestern’s Jordan Wilimovsky in both the 1000 and 500 free and emerged with wins over the U.S. Olympic finalist both times. Ipsen edged Wilimovsky in the 1000, 8:55.21 to 8:56.00, after a back-and-forth race, but it was smooth sailing in the 500 as Ipsen posted a 4:21.95, and Wilimovsky came in at 4:25.60.

The Wolfpack men have yet to face any real challenges this season, but that figures to change next weekend in what should be a quick meet in Austin.

NC State (women) & Northwestern (men) at Duke

NC State junior Hannah Moore made the most of the 30-minute drive up I-40 to Durham, taking down two Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion records in sweeping the 500 free and 1000 free. She posted a 9:45.51 in the 1000 and then a 4:47.08 in the 500, lowering a pool mark that dated back to 1978. Kayla Brumbaum won both breaststroke events,Elise Haan took first in both backstrokes, and freshman Ky-Lee Perry continues to impress as she won the 50 free, finished second in the 100 free and played a key role in both NC State relay wins.

The Blue Devil women had their moments, winning both diving events with Kirby Quinn (one-meter) and Mack Willborn (three-meter) and both butterfly events with Alyssa Marsh (100 fly) and Isa Paez (200 fly). Paez, Anna Quinn and Kylie Jordan actually swept the top three spots in the 200 fly, but it was not enough, as NC State took the win, 177-123.

Duke’s men defeated Northwestern 185-110, and it was a total dominant effort. The Wildcats picked up just three wins, two of them from Olympian Jordan Wilimovsky in the 500 and 1000 free. A trio of senior Blue Devils each picked up multiple victories on the day: Peter Kropp swept the breaststrokes, Michael Miller won both the 200 IM and 200 fly, and Kaz Takabayashi took first in both the 100 back and 100 fly in his season debut.

Miami, Rutgers & Purdue at Notre Dame

The Fighting Irish were dominant at home. The men won a hard-fought contest against Purdue, 165-135, and the women swept all three visiting teams, beating Miami 224-74, Rutgers 221-78 and Purdue 190-110. The Irish won all four relay events contested and also had several individual highlights.

On the men’s side, Notre Dame’s Matthew Grauslys and Kevin Bradley finished first and second, respectively in the men’s 200 fly, and Bradley, Aaron Schultz and Kyle Whitacre swept the top three spots in the 200 IM. Whitacre contributed wins in both backstroke events. On the sprint side, Justin Plaschka and Daniel Speers finished 1-2 in the 50 free, and Tabahn Afrik and Reed Fujan occupied the top two spots in the 100.

For the Irish women, freshmen Abbie Dolan and Katie Smith continued their hot start to the season. Dolan posted a pool record-time of 1:47.14 in the women’s 200 free (breaking the mark previously held by Kelsi Worrell) and also won the 100 free in 49.89. Smith posted a quick 22.69 to win the 50 free. Meghan O’Donnell swept the breaststroke events, while Catherine Mulquin put up a quick time of 54.20 in the 100 back.

The Hurricane women, meanwhile, posted two event victories with senior Angela Algee winning the 100 fly in 54.53 and diver Wally Layland taking first in the three-meter competition with a score of 325.30.

Buffalo at Pitt

A week after falling at Virginia, the Panthers swept Buffalo in their home opener and John Hargis’ first home meet as head coach of the program. The women won by a comfortable 190.5-109.5 margin, but the men had to battle to the end, finishing on top by just two points, 151 to 149.

For the Panther women, diver Meme Sharp won both the one-meter and three-meter events, and Amanda Richey and Valerie Daigneault each ended up double winners as well. Richey won a nail-biter in the 1650—after 66 laps, she just barely touched out Buffalo’s Hannah Miller, 16:45.64 to 16:45.69. Richey later comfortably won the 500 free while Daigneault won the 200 back and 200 IM after opening the meet with a second-place finish in the 200 free.

Star senior diver Dominic Giordano provided a huge boost for the Pitt men when he swept the one-meter and three-meter victories. Brian Lovasik cruised to victories in the 100 and 200 free, and Pitt finished 1-2 in a pair of events: the 200 fly with Jake Tovey and Luke Smutny and the 500 free with Spencer Gray and Aaron Sett.

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Daina Rice Hill

7 years ago

Go Pack!