NC State, Virginia, VT Name Team Captains For 2020-2021

Three ACC powers have officially named team captains for the 2020-2021 NCAA Swimming & Diving season: NC State, Virginia, and Virginia Tech.

The trio of teams represent 3 of the top 4 finishers from last year’s ACC men’s and women’s championships.

Final 2020 ACC Championships Standings – Men

1. NC State: 1250
2. UVA: 1089
3. Louisville: 1066.5
4. VT: 898
5. Florida St: 812.5
6. ND: 803.5
7. UNC: 630.5
8. Pitt: 520
9. GT: 506
10. Duke: 421
11. Miami: 197
12. BC: 134

Final 2020 ACC Championships Standings – Women

1. UVA: 1492.5
2. NC State: 1333.5
3. Louisville: 1105.5
4. UNC: 839
5. ND: 784
6. Duke: 675.5
7. Florida St: 555
8. VT: 469
9. GT: 407.5
10. Pitt: 358.5
11. Miami: 298
12. BC: 164

NC State

The NC State Wolfpack are the five-time defending ACC champs on the men’s side. They’ve named their six team captains for the coming year, according to the team’s coaching staff:

• Julia Poole, senior – Last season, Poole was the ACC runner-up in the 200 IM, a year after winning the ACC title as a sophomore. She has an Honorable Mention All-America award via a 14th-place finish in the 200 IM at the 2019 NCAA Championships.
• Sophie Hansson, junior – a 5-time All-American and 5-time ACC Champion, Hansson enters her junior season as the favorite nationally in the 100 breaststroke. She ended the season in that event ranked #1 in the nation.
• Shannon Kearney, junior – While not a member of NC State’s ACC Championship team last season, but she still finished her season on a high note with best times in both the 100 back (53.82) and 200 back (1:57.41) at the Bulldog Invitational first chance meet. Both of those times would have scored at the ACC Championships.
• Eric Knowles, senior – Knowles had a trio of top-6 finishes at last year’s ACC Championship meet, including 4th in the 1650 free (14:47). As a sophomore in 2019, he was the ACC Champion in the 500 free. Before the meet was cancelled, he was qualified to siwm at his 3rd-straight NCAA Championship last season, looking to repeat All-America status (16th place) in the mile.
• Nyls Korstanje, junior – The team’s 2nd-leading scorer at last year’s ACC Championship meet as a sophomore, Korstanje was the conference champion in both the 50 free (19.25) and 100 free (42.13). He also took 3rd in the 100 fly (45.47). He earned 5 All-America honors in 2019 as a freshman, including individually in both the 50 and 100 freestyles.
• Luke Sobolewski, senior – A sprinter, Sobolewski played a crucial role in NC State’s conference championship winning 200 medley relay. There, he picked up the butterfly leg and split 20.38 to hold-serve against runners-up Florida State, handing Korstanje a chance to finish the relay with the win.

Virginia

Virginia, the defending ACC women’s champions, named the captains of their women’s team in an Instagram post Friday:

• Kyla Valls, senior – A key relay cog for UVA, she has 6 All-America awards in her career, all as a relay swimmer, and 2 ACC titles. She ranks in the top 10 all-time at Virginia in the 50 free (22.40), 100 free (48.39), and 200 free (1:44.48)
• Caroline Gmelich, senior – Gmelich had a breakout season as a sophomore, including a runner-up finish at the ACC Championships in the 100 backstroke. Her 51.88 in that event ranks her 4th all-time at Virginia.
• Alexis Wenger, junior – Wenger ranked 2nd nationally last season in the 100 breaststroke, behind only NC State captain Sophie Hansson (see above). Her 57.91 in the 100 breaststroke broke the UVA record.
• Jess Nava, junior – As a sophomore, she finished 6th at the ACC Championships in the 100 fly (52.11) and 4th in the 200 fly (1:54.81).
• Sam Schilling, senior – Schilling finished 2020 as an ACC runner-up in the men’s 200 free, now ranking 3rd in that event in program history (behind only National Teamer Scot Robison and Olympic gold medalist Matt McLean). In total as a junior, he dropped almost 2 seconds in that event from 1:35.18 to 1:33.42.
• Matt Otto, senior – Otto ranks in the programs top-10 of all time in 4 different events. That included a 6th-place finish in the 200 breaststroke.
• Casey Storch, junior – With 75 points at last year’s ACC Championships, Storch is the team’s highest-scoring swimmer from that meet who will return next season. That included a 3rd-place finish in the 400 IM in 3:44.02.

Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech also announced their captains via head coach Sergio Lopez‘s Instagram:

• Reka Gyorgy, senior – Gyorgy also sat out last season on a redshirt. Previously, though, she was an NCAA scorer in the 400 IM in each of her three seasons with the H2Okies.
• Molly Sheffield, senior – Sheffield scored at ACCs in the 100 fly as a sophomore, but was a scratch from her events as a junior in 2020.
• Alex Slayton, junior – Slayton will be a junior captain. She led off Virginia Tech’s 200 medley relay at ACCs in 2020.
• Regan Westwood, senior – Westwood, a diver, scored at ACCs on 3-meter this past season and on two boards as a freshman in 2018.
• Tommy Hallock, senior – Hallock was an ACC A finalist in the 50 and 100 frees last season He was an NCAA invitee in 2020 before that meet was canceled.
• David Herbert, senior – Herbert sat out last season with a redshirt. Before that, he was an ACC scorer in the 50 free as both a sophomore and junior.
• Keith Myburgh, junior – Myburgh won last year’s ACC B final in the 400 IM as a sophomore.
• Noah Zawadzki, junior –  Zawadzki, a diver, qualified for NCAAs on all three boards as a freshman in 2019, and had earned invites on all three boards again in 2020.