The North Carolina State men ascended to the number one spot in the latest CSCAA Division I poll after an impressive dual meet win over Texas, and now the Wolfpack will finish off their semester of competition against eight other programs in Greensboro, N.C.
This invite was an attractive option for many of the ACC teams in attendance since it would be at the same Greensboro Aquatic Center slated to host the ACC championships each year for the foreseeable future. In response to a North Carolina law known as HB2, he conference pulled the championships from Greensboro and relocated the meet to Atlanta, but attendance for this late-November invite has not suffered.
NC State’s regional rivals Duke and North Carolina will both make the trip up I-40 from the Triangle, and ACC rivals Notre Dame and Miami (women only) will also be in town. Tennessee, West Virginia, the Marshall women and Air Force men will round out the field.
The Wolfpack have been extremely impressive so far this season, as Ryan Held, Soeren Dahl and Anton Ipsen have been the key contributors in a 3-0 start. Their 173.5-126.5 victory in Austin was not even as close as the final score would indicate. A year after the team finished fourth at the NCAA level and captured the national championship in the 400 free relay, the sky appears to be the limit.
The NC State women have also been impressive so far in the young season, handling Wisconsin and Duke before dropping a 166.5-127.5 decision to fourth-ranked Texas. After cracking the top ten at last year’s NCAA championships, the Wolfpack women rank ninth in the CSCAA poll as junior distance swimmer Hannah Moore has been among the best in the country in her events.
It has not been the smoothest start for UNC as the Tar Heels have yet to win a meet. Of course, their opponents have included Georgia at home and then Tennessee and Louisville on the road. Quite the gauntlet. UNC lost a large group of seniors a year ago, but Olympic Trials finalist Hellen Moffitt and senior transfer Jordan Merrilees, along with divers Elissa Dawson and Jack Nyquist, have all been impressive.
Don’t be surprised to see Duke make an impact in the team race as the Blue Devils typically swim fast at their November invitational. Last year, when Duke, UNC and NC State all swam at the Nike Cup in Chapel Hill, Duke comfortably won the men’s meet and finished just behind UNC in the women’s team race. Both Duke teams are 3-1, with the women having most recently dropped a home dual meet to NC State the same day the men took down Northwestern.
Tennessee will continue its busy fall in Greensboro after already taking on UNC, Louisville, Kentucky, Indiana, Vanderbilt (women) and, most recently, Auburn, where the Volunteers earned a split Friday afternoon. Freshman Meghan Small earned SEC Swimmer of the Week honors for her performance against Auburn, and Kira Toussaint and Peter John Stevens have remained consistent.
Notre Dame returns to competition two weeks after winning three of four against ACC rivals in Pittsburgh. The Fighting Irish swept the host Pitt Panthers and split with Virginia Tech, as the women won a narrow 190-163 decision and the men fell 203-150. Miami, meanwhile, most recently edged out Princeton 151-147 Nov. 4 as senior Angela Algee has been their most consistent performer this season.
West Virginia raced four weekends in a row, but this is the first competition for the Mountaineers since a quad meet against Duke, Virginia Tech and William & Mary in Blacksburg Oct. 21-22. The Mountaineers went winless that day and will look to improve as they meet the Blue Devils yet again.
The Marshall women will return to competition after crushing Cleveland State two weeks ago, and Air Force makes the cross-country trip after going undefeated in three recent home dual meets against Colorado Mines, Wyoming and Grand Canyon.
