Duke, Miami Visit North Carolina State For ACC Tri-Meet

RALEIGH, North Carolina, November 8. NORTH Carolina State earned two victories Friday night over visiting Duke and Miami, with several swimmers posting NCAA B cuts in the process.

North Carolina State Press Release

The NC State swimming & diving team was victorious against Duke and Miami (women only) in its home debut Friday afternoon at the Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center. The 10th-ranked State men posted a 177-115 victory over the Blue Devils, while the 13th-ranked Wolfpack women’s squad downed Duke, 168-121, and Miami, 207-77.

The men’s squad improves to 2-2 on the season and in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) competition, while the women improve to 4-1 on the year and in conference action.

“Overall, we were pretty solid today,” said head coach Braden Holloway. “In some areas, I want a little bit more, but in other areas we were a little better than I was thinking. Duke and Miami provided a great meet for us; they had great energy on their side. We still have to finish races better and get in and out of the walls a little better.”

The Pack swept the four relay events of the day and posted 17 individual victories throughout the afternoon.

The meet began with the 400 medley relay and the Wolfpack claimed first-place finishes in the men’s and women’s event. On the women’s side, Alexia Zevnik, Lauren Poli, Zina Grogg and Riki Bonnema teamed up for the victory, touching the wall in 3:43.05. On the men’s side, State recorded first and second place finishes, with the team of Andreas Schiellerup, Ian Bishop, David Williams and Jonathan Boffa claiming the top spot with a time of 3:15.70.

Individually, Grogg was able to meet the required time standard for an NCAA `B’ cut in the women’s 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly. She captured a first-place finish in the 100 backstroke with a time of 55.02 and cruised to victory in the 100 butterfly with a time of 53.96.

“Zina Grogg was really good for us,” Holloway said. “She was hitting on all cylinders and she was a big leader for us today. I was happy to see that.”

Senior Ian Bishop recorded a `B’ cut in the men’s 100 breaststroke for the second consecutive meet, as he touched the wall first with a time of 54.83. Bishop recorded his second victory of the afternoon in the 200 breaststroke, touching the wall in 2:01.24.

“Ian Bishop continues to be a big force for us, as well as Jonathan Boffa on the men’s side,” Holloway stated.

In the men’s 200 butterfly, sophomore Christian McCurdy recorded an NCAA `B’ cut with a blazing fast time of 1:47.44. John Newell also posted a second-place finish in the event with a time of 1:49.96.

Grogg, Hannah Freyman, Ashlyn Koletic and Bonnema teamed up to capture a first-place finish in the women’s 200 freestyle with a time of 1:33.06. Scott Johnson, Jason Deana, Chad Harrington and Ryan Wilkinson followed up with a victory on the men’s side, touching the wall in 1:21.92.

“It was nice to pull out that 200 free relay at the end,” Holloway said. “The girls haven’t lost a 200 free relay since the new staff has been here. That was a close one, but they needed that and Riki [Bonnema] brought it home.”

In diving, freshman Grant Saale finished with a score of 284.50 on the men’s three-meter springboard, while Maddie Keeley competed in the women’s three-meter springboard with a total score of 254.45. Gabrielle McDermott totaled 209.10 score on the one-meter springboard.

“I thought the divers did really well,” said head diving coach Josh Karshen. “That was the best they’ve dove all season. They had some good competition, going up against national champions and Olympians. All of their scores are reflective of their hard work. We are going to be ready for tomorrow and keep improving throughout the season.”

Up next, the Pack will face nonconference foe UNC Wilmington inside the Willis R Casey Aquatic Center on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m.

Duke Press Release

The Duke swimming and diving teams kicked off ACC competition on the road Friday at NC State’s Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center. The Blue Devil women downed Miami by a score of 198-92 while both the men (115-177) and women (121-168) fell to the Wolfpack squads.

Following Friday’s action, the Duke women moved to 2-1 (1-1 ACC) on the year and the men’s team dropped to 1-1 (0-1 ACC).

Senior Christine Wixted highlighted several strong individual performances on the day, sweeping the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke events for the second time this season. The Greenwood, Colo., native touched at 1:03.23 to win the 100-yard race before returning to the pool later to complete the sweep with a 2:17.35 swim at the 200-yard distance. On the men’s side, senior Hunter Knight finished second and registered season-best times in both breaststroke events.

The Blue Devils’ sprint freestylers also had an impressive outing, as senior Lauren Weaver won the 50 freestyle in 22.86 for an NCAA provisional standard. Weaver also took second behind freshman Maddie Rusch in the 100 freestyle, while rookie James Peek was third in the men’s 50 freestyle with a season-best 21.02 clocking.

Continuing what has been a solid start to his collegiate career, freshman Bradley Cline tapped the wall at 4:39.37 in the 500 freestyle to drop time from his performance two weeks ago at UNC Wilmington. Another young swimmer netted points for Duke as sophomore Kiera Molloy was second in the 400 IM at 4:26.77.

The ACC Male Diver of the Week last week, senior Nick McCrory once again collected wins in the two springboard events Friday. He posted scores of 401.20 on the 1-meter board and 417.20 at the 3-meter height to garner a pair of NCAA Zone Diving Championships qualifying marks. Freshman Kirby Quinn led the women’s divers with a second-place showing on the 3-meter springboard. Quinn surpassed the Zones standard in the event for the second time in as many meets, earning an award of 288.25.

The women’s 400 medley relay of sophomore Chelsea Ye, Christine Wixted, Rusch and Weaver began the meet with a second-place performance at 3:45.30 while Weaver, Rusch, Christine Wixted and senior Kelly Hagerty were second in the 200 freestyle relay (1:33.15). The Blue Devil men closed the day with a second-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay, as sophomore Victor Chen, freshman Michael Seaberg, Cline and Peek combined for a time of 1:24.86.

Duke’s swimmers return to action Saturday, Nov. 9 as they host William & Mary in the home opener at Taishoff Aquatic Pavilion at 11 a.m. Live results will be available here, as well as on the Meet Mobile app for iPhone and Android.

Miami Press Release

The Miami Hurricanes swimming & diving team fell in its tri-meet at the Casey Natatorium Friday, dropping matchups with ACC foes Duke and NC State in the team’s conference opener.

Reigning ACC Women’s Diver of the Year Kara McCormack delivered another standout performance for Miami, capturing first place in both the 1-meter (303.80) and 3-meter (324.60) events. Teammate Thea Vock was not far behind, taking second in the 1-meter (301.10) and third in the 3-meter (281.30).

Freshman Cameron Davis shined in the first conference meet of her young career, earning Miami points in her signature distance events with third-place showings in the 1000 Freestyle (10:25.22) and 500 Freestyle (5:03.98). The Sarasota, Fla., native also managed a third-place finish in her final individual event of the day, the 400 IM, with a time of 4:40.72.

After junior Amy Wiley touched the wall in a time of 1:06.03 in the 100 Breaststroke for a sixth-place finish, freshman Angela Algee delivered a fourth-place time of 2:06.15 in the 200 Butterfly. Sophomore My Fridell and senior captain Katherine Nicholson kept the momentum building for Miami in the middle stages of the meet, finishing the 50 Free in fifth (24.31) and sixth (24.69), respectively.

Fridell finished the 100 Fly (56.21) in fourth for her final individual event of the meet, while Miami’s “A” entry in the 200 Freestyle Relay, comprised of Wiley, Fridell, Algee and Nicholson, touched the wall in a time of 1:38.36 in the day’s final race.

Redshirt junior Sam Dorman had a strong performance for the men’s divers, finishing both the 1-meter (359.85) and 3-meter (383.75) in second place. Sophomore Tanner Wilfong took third in both, finishing with 330.75 points in the 1-meter and 344.35 in the 3-meter.

Miami fell to NC State 207.00-77.00 and dropped its head-to-head with Duke 192.00-98.00.

The Miami divers return to the pool for the UT Invitational in Austin, Texas, on Nov. 21-23, while the swimming team will compete in the annual Georgia Tech Invite in Atlanta from Nov. 22-24.

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