NC State Shatters Records in Sweep of Virginia

• NC State v. Virginia
• Saturday, January 26th
• Raleigh, NC
• Dual Meet Format
• Results
• Scores
  • Women: NC State 167, UVA 127
  • Men: NC State 185, UVA 100

The NC State Wolfpack dominated in their home pool against the visiting Virginia Cavaliers Saturday afternoon, setting nine pool records and one team record as both the men and women defeated their ACC rivals by wide margins.

Women’s Recap

NC State ripped their first pool record in the very first event, putting up a 1:36.38 in the 200 medley relay, with Elise Haan‘s 24.58 leadoff proving the biggest difference-maker for the Wolfpack.

UVA didn’t let that go unanswered for long, as Paige Madden held off Anna Jahns over the final lap of the 1000 free, ultimately winning 9:50.61 to 9:51.87. That was one of three victories for Madden, who jumped right back into the pool to take the 200 free in 1:46.38, then later won the 500 free with a 4:44.21.

Outside of Madden, however, it was NC State all the way. Their freshen looked particularly strong, accounting for five individual wins. Sophie Hansson swept the breaststrokes, registering times of 59.77 and 2:10.53. Emma Muzzy put up a 1:54.38 in the 200 back, but it was Kylee Alons who had the most impressive swims, going 52.93 in the 100 fly and 1:57.03 in the 200 fly, setting a new team record in that event.

Ky-Lee Perry also doubled up for the Wolfpack, going 22.10 in the 50 free and 48.35 to set two new pool records. The sophomore will be a key player in NC State’s quest to reclaim the ACC title from UVA, after she missed last year’s ACC championship meet.

The Wolfpack also got victories from Elise Haan (52.86 in the 100 back) and Katie Moore (1:59.58 in the 200 IM).

Men’s Recap

Coleman Stewart (21.34), Daniel Graber (24.60), Nyls Korstanje (20.56), and Justin Ress (19.16) combined for a 1:25.66 victory in the 200 medley relay to start the meet. That’s about as fas as a time as you’ll see in a dual meet, and was only about a second slower than NC State swam at the IU Invite a few months ago.

That kicked off a dominating series of wins for the Wolfpack, as, ignoring exhibitioned swims, NC State won all but two of the pool events over the course of the day, taking the top three or four spots in multiple events.

Eric Knowles swept the distance events, getting things started with a strong 9:02.15 in the 1000 that was the fastest time by over eight seconds, and then coming back in the second half of the meet to win the 500 in 4:23.48. Knowles’s previous best time in the 1000 was a 9:08.24 from exactly a year ago. A proportional improvement over his best 1650 time (14:54.56) would put him in NCAA scoring range, giving the Wolfpack a boost in an event where NCAA champion Anton Ipsen was their only scorer last year.

Seniors Jacob Molacek and Andreas Vazaois also doubled. Molacek went 1:36.92 in the 200 free and 1:47.70 in the 200 IM, although the latter event was exhibitioned. Vazaois won the 200 fly, the event in which he is the reigning NCAA champ, with a narrow victory over fellow senior James Bretscher, 1:44.36 to 1:44.77, then later went 1:45.56 to claim victory in the 200 back.

NC State also got victories from Stewart in the 100 back (a very strong 46.29), Cobe Garcia in the 50 free (20.03), Ress in the 100 free (43.72) and Giovanni Izzo (47.19).

The breaststroke events were the one area the Cavaliers outdid the Wolfpack. Keefer Barnum held off Graber to take the 100 breast, 54.52 to 54.60, while Matthew Otto took the 200 breast in 1:57.99.

While UVA should be battling for another top three finish at ACCs, it’s worth noting that, despite forgoing some points by choosing to exhibition the last few events, NC State’s margin of victory over UVA was larger than that of UVA’s win over UNC the day before.

NC State Release

Courtesy of NC State Athletics

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams made a statement in their final home meet of the 2018-19 season as they swept Virginia Saturday afternoon at the Casey Aquatic Center.

In a pair of top-15 matchups, the Wolfpack came out on top on both sides. The No. 6 Wolfpack women defeated fifth-ranked Virginia, who won the 2018 ACC team title, by a 167-127 score, and the No. 5 NC State men took a 185-100 win over the Cavaliers. With the sweep, both of NC State’s squads remained unbeaten in dual action this season, and the Pack has swept the Cavaliers in each of the teams’ last two meetings in Raleigh.

The Pack came out in its usual fast form and set new pool records in nine events. Reigning ACC Women’s Swimmer of the Week Kylee Alons continued off of last weekend’s strong performances by also setting a new program record in the 200-yard butterfly.

QUOTING THE COACHES:
Head coach Braden Holloway
“I thought we performed well today. This is only our second home meet, and our team likes to perform in our own house. Today, knowing that this was only our second home meet, they still have the buzz of wanting to perform here. They have a lot of fight. Our team likes to compete. It doesn’t matter who it is. Virginia brought the best out in us. We’ve been going back and forth with some good competition with them, and our team wanted to get up and go today. We can only control what we do, but it’s nice momentum to take us into next weekend’s meet with Texas and Arizona. For us, this gives us momentum going into that meet to test ourselves yet again.”

Head diving coach Yahya Radman
“Today was a really good day. I respect Virginia very much. I love what Drew (Livingston) has done with that program, and his team really brought a good, competitive edge. A huge shout out to Holt (Gray), who did an awesome job when we needed him. James (Brady) had a very nice outing on the one-meter, and Stewart (Spanbauer) qualified for Zones on both boards, which brings our men’s total to all three of them going to Zones. On the women’s side, Hailey Fisher also had a really nice meet, which puts our total at three men and three women for Zones. We’ll just keep on working.”

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS:
Freshman Kylee Alons once again led the Wolfpack women in scoring, boosted by a sweep of the butterfly events on Saturday. Alons took ownership of the top 200-yard butterfly time in program history, winning in 1:57.03 to start her outing. She also picked up a top finish in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 52.93.

Eric Knowles dominated the distance races, taking first place in both the 1000-yard and the 500-yard freestyle events. Knowles swam the Pack’s fastest 1000-yard freestyle team of the season to pick up the dominating win in 9:02.15, and he went on to place first in the 500-yard freestyle in 4:23.48.

Ky-lee Perry swept the sprint freestyle events for the third dual this season. After resetting her own pool record in the 50-yard freestyle last weekend, Perry yet again bested her own time in the event with a 22.10. She also clocked a pool record of 48.34 in the 100-yard freestyle.

Senior Andreas Vazaios once again picked up multiple individual wins. He led the Pack men to the podium sweep of the 200-yard butterfly, placing first in 1:44.36 as all three of NC State’s men finished under the NCAA B cut. Vazaios also won the 200-yard backstroke with a mark of 1:45.66, once again leading the Wolfpack to the podium sweep.

The Pack saw its women set a new pool record in the 100-yard backstroke for the second meet in a row as Elise Haan took the win in 52.86. Freshman Emma Muzzy, whose 100-yard backstroke pool record from last weekend was edged by Haan on Saturday, rewrote her name into the record books, this time in the 200-yard backstroke. She won that event with a pool record of 1:54.38.

Sophie Hansson also added a pool record to the meet in the 100-yard breaststroke (59.77) as she won that event and the 200-yard breaststroke (2:10.53) on Saturday.

NC State’s men also swept the podium in the 100-yard backstroke, the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle. Coleman Stewart, who entered the meet with the ACC’s fastest 100-yard backstroke time, won the event in 46.29. Senior Cobe Garciaearned his first individual event win of the season with a 20.03 50-yard freestyle time, and Justin Ress picked up a win in the 100-yard freestyle in 43.72.

DIVING:
NC State’s men swept the one-meter podium at the start of the meet, all tallying NCAA Zone scores. James Brady led the way, taking first with a score of 335.80, and Holt Gray (2nd, 330.60) and Stewart Spanbauer (3rd, 319.15) rounded out the top three.

Gray and Spanbauer also earned podium finishes on the three-meter. Gray picked up a win in that event for the second meet in a row with a score of 372.10, and Spanbauer took second place with a 322.40 mark.

Madeline Kline secured a podium finish for the Wolfpack women on the one-meter board. Kline, who was named ACC Women’s Diver of the Week after last weekend’s win over UNC-Chapel Hill, tallied a 285.95 mark on the way to placing second.

RELAY HIGHLIGHTS:
The Pack started the meet on fire as both the men’s and the women’s 200-yard medley relay squads set new pool records in the first swimming events of the meet. Elise Haan, Sophie Hansson, Sirena Rowe and Ky-lee Perry opened the meet with a win in 1:36.83, and Coleman Stewart, Daniel Graber, Nyls Korstanje and Justin Ress followed up with a first-place finish in 1:25.66.

NC State’s 400-yard freestyle relay teams, swimming exhibition at the conclusion of the meet, also clocked the fastest times ever swam in the event at the Casey Aquatic Center.

UP NEXT:
NC State will get a preview of the site for the 2019 NCAA Championships as it heads to Austin, Texas for a tri-meet against Texas and Arizona. The meet is set to run Feb. 1-2 at the Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.

MEN’S SCORE: NC STATE, 185 – VIRGINIA, 100
TOP FINISHERS:

• One-meter: James Brady (1st place – 335.80)
• 200 medley relay: Coleman Stewart, Daniel Graber, Nyls Korstanje, Justin Ress (1st place – 1:25.66)
• 1000 freestyle: Eric Knowles (1st place – 9:02.15)
• 200 freestyle: Jacob Molacek (1st place – 1:36.92)
• 100 backstroke: Coleman Stewart (1st place – 46.29)
• 100 breaststroke: Daniel Graber (2nd place – 54.60)
• 200 butterfly: Andreas Vazaios (1st place – 1:44.36)
• 50 freestyle: Cobe Garcia (1st place – 20.03)
• 100 freestyle: Justin Ress (1st place – 43.72)
• Three-meter: Holt Gray (1st place – 372.10)
• 200 backstroke: Andreas Vazaios (1st place -1:45.56)
• 200 breaststroke: Rafal Kusto (2nd place – 1:58.40)
• 500 freestyle: Eric Knowles (1st place – 4:23.48)
• 100 butterfly: Giovanni Izzo (EXH – 47.19)
• 200 individual medley: Jacob Molacek (EXH – 1:47.40)
• 400 freestyle relay: Coleman Stewart, Nyls Korstanje, Giovanni Izzo, Justin Ress (EXH – 2:53.29)

WOMEN’S SCORE: NC STATE, 167 – VIRGINIA, 127
TOP FINISHERS:

• Three-meter: Hailey Fisher (3rd place – 263.40)
• 200 medley relay: Elise Haan, Sophie Hansson, Sirena Rowe, Ky-lee Perry (1st place – 1:36.83)
• 1000 freestyle: Anna Jahns (2nd place – 9:51.87)
• 200 freestyle: Julia Poole (2nd place – 1:47.50)
• 100 backstroke: Elise Haan (1st place – 52.86)
• 100 breaststroke: Sophie Hansson (1st place – 59.77)
• 200 butterfly: Kylee Alons (1st place – 1:57.03)
• 50 freestyle: Ky-lee Perry (1st place – 22.10)
• 100 freestyle: Ky-lee Perry (1st place – 48.34)
• One-meter: Madeline Kline (2nd place – 285.95)
• 200 backstroke: Emma Muzzy (1st place – 1:54.38)
• 200 breaststroke: Sophie Hansson (1st place – 2:10.53)
• 500 freestyle: Kate Moore (2nd place – 4:49.51)
• 100 butterfly: Kylee Alons (1st place – 52.93)
• 200 individual medley: Kate Moore (1st place – 1:59.58)
• 400 freestyle relay: Ky-lee Perry, Kylee Alons, Sirena Rowe, Lexie Lupton (EXH – 3:16.34)

Virginia Release

Courtesy of Virginia Athletics

Raleigh, N.C. –  The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams fell in their last dual meet of the season on Saturday (Jan. 26) to NC State at the Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center.

The No. 5 Cavalier women fell 167-127 to the No. 6 Wolfpack, while the No. 14 Virginia men fell 185-100 to No. 5 NC State.

On the boards, senior Kylie Towbin (New Canaan, Conn.), junior Sydney Dusel (Naperville, Ill.) and sophomore Jocelyn Porter finished 1-2 -3 in the women’s 3m dive. Towbin recorded a score of 300.05, while Dusel and Porter captured scores of 271.10 and 268.20, respectively. Dusel followed with the win on the 1m board with a score of 299.00.

Sophomore Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala.) paced the swim team, finishing first in three events. Madden opened the day with the top time in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 9:50.61 before winning the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:46.29 and the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:44.21.

Sophomore Keefer Barnum (Louisville, Ky.) led the pool in the 100-yard breaststroke, recording a time of 54.52, while sophomore Matthew Otto (Newark, Del.) swam a time of 1:57.99 to finish first in the 200-yard breaststroke.

“I’m proud of our teams’ performances today against a very strong NC State,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “Hats off to the Wolfpack for bringing their A game. This weekend was great prep for the upcoming championship season. Our female divers were dominate and we had some exceptional races. Our squads are looking forward to defending their ACC title on the women’s side and improving upon our (men’s) third-place finish from last year’s ACC championships.”

Additionally, the women’s 200-yard medley relay team of sophomore Caroline Gmelich (Rumson, N.J.), freshman Alexis Wenger (Detroit, Mich.), sophomore Anna Pang (London) and junior Morgan Hill (Olney, Md.) finished second, with a time of 1:37.50.

Wenger tied for the fifth-best time in school history with her second-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke. She finished the event with a time of 1:00.66. Hill placed second in both the 50 and 100-yard freestyle, swimming a time of 22.31 and 48.63, respectively, while junior Mary Claire Tansill (Bristow, Va.) placed second in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:13.85. Pang captured a time of 54.11 in the 100-yard butterfly for second place as sophomore Abby Richter (Henderson, Nev.) recorded a time of 2:00.58 for second place in the 200-yard individual medley.

In the men’s 500-yard freestyle, redshirt senior Brendan Casey (Santa Monica, Calif.) captured the second-best time of the day, swimming a 4:28.36 in the event. Freshman Casey Storch (Great Falls, Ohio) finished second in the 200-yard individual medley, recording a time of 1:50.15.

The Cavaliers concluded the day with a second-place finish and a time of 3:18.36 from Hill, Pang, redshirt junior Megan Moroney (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) and senior Eryn Eddy (Loveland, Colo.) in the 400-yard freestyle relay, as the men’s team of junior Ryan Baker (Arlington, Va.), junior Joe Clark (Worcester Park, Great Britain), sophomore Sam Schilling (Excelsior, Minn.) and sophomore Cooper Wozencraft (Houston, Texas) placed second in the men’s race with a time of 2:56.60.

Today’s meet concludes the regular season for the Cavaliers. The team will return to action on February 20 as the women compete at the ACC Championships in Greensboro, N.C.