Alons Clocks 48.7/1:45.9 to win Double as NC State Beats Rival UNC

UNC vs. NC STATE

  • Jan. 17, 2020
  • Hosted by UNC
  • Short Course Yards
  • Full Results

TEAM SCORES

WOMEN

  1. NC State 182
  2. UNC 112

MEN

  1. NC State 187.5
  2. UNC 112.5

Kylee Alons had a pair of highlight swims for the Wolfpack as the NC State men and women beat rival UNC on the road. Alons was over 3 seconds ahead of the field in the 200 free, clocking in at 1:45.91 for her first win. Racing against ACC Champion teammate Ky-Lee Perry in the 100 free, Alons used her back-half speed to edge ahead for a 48.78 to 49.31 win. Perry won the 50 free in 22.61.

Freshman Katharine Berkoff also won a double. She swept the backstrokes, posting a 52.38 in the 100 back and a 1:54.28 in the 200 back.

NCAA Champion Coleman Stewart blew away the field in the 100 back. Stewart was over 2.5 seconds ahead, finishing in 46.17. He went on to sweep the backstrokes, turning in a 1:45.31 in the 200 back. Teammate Eric Knowles earned a pair of freestyle wins (1:37.80/4:23.76)

UNC’s top scorer was breaststroker Valdas Abaliksta. He pulled off a breaststroke sweep, leading a 1-2 finish in the 100 breast with teammate Jacob Rauch. Abaliksta used his back half speed to take the edge in a 54.91 to 55.34 victory. He went on to post the only sub-2:00 of the field in the 200 breast, winning in 1:59.32.

PRESS RELEASE – NC STATE:

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The NC State men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams swept their first meet of the weekend at UNC on Friday evening. The sweep marked the men’s squad’s sixth consecutive win over the Tar Heels, and the women’s fifth.

The sixth-ranked men captured a 187.5-112.5 victory, while the sixth-ranked women outscored the Tar Heels 182-118. Coleman Stewart and Eric Knowles led the way in scoring for the men, and Katharine Berkoff and Kate Moore posted the most points for the women.

The Wolfpack women swept the podium in three events on the night: 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard backstroke and 200 individual medley.

Six individuals brought in multiple individual titles for NC State: Moore, Alons, Berkoff, Julia Poole, Knowles and Stewart.

MEET HIGHLIGHTS: Alons (1:45.91), Poole (1:49.00) and Katie Mack (1:49.85) completed the Wolfpack’s 200-yard freestyle sweep. Joining in the event sweep, Berkoff (52.38), Emma Muzzy (53.60) and Danika Huizinga (54.03) finished atop the women’s 100-yard backstroke.

Poole (2:01.05), Jessica Horomanski (2:02.40) and Heather MacCausland (2:02.42) finished the sweep in the women’s 200-yard individual medley.

The NC State women recorded two B cuts in the 200-yard breaststroke courtesy of Poole (2:13.82) and MacCausland (2:13.97).

Berkoff and Stewart swept the backstroke events on Friday. Berkoff posted a 52.38 in the 100-yard backstroke and a 1:54.28 in the 200-yardbackstroke, while Stewart clocked in at 46.17 and 1:45.31.

Moore finished in 4:49.56 in the women’s 500-yard freestyle and in 9:46.16 in the women’s 1,000-yard freestyle to take home the titles both freestyle events she competed in.

Competing in the 200-yard freestyle (1:37.80) and 500-yard freestyle (4:23.76), Eric Knowles took home both event titles.

In diving, NC State earned three podium finishes. Madeline Kline took second place on the one-meter board (260.78) and third-place on the three-meter board (285.45). James Brady brought in second-place honors on the three-meter, posting a 369.08.

“Today was a solid outing for the divers, but we still left a lot of points on the board,” said head diving coach Yahya Radman. “I’m looking forward to seeing how we can bounce back from this tomorrow morning. A lot of the things that we’ve been working on have started to bring themselves together just in time for the postseason. Tomorrow is another opportunity to showcase what we’ve been working on and how far we can take it.”

UP NEXT:
The No. 6/6 NC State men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams close out their home slate on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center against No. 25/20 Duke. Admission is free.

WOMEN’S SCORE: NC STATE, 182 – NORTH CAROLINA, 118
TOP FINISHERS:

  • One-meter: Madeline Kline (2nd place – 260.78)
  • 200 medley relay: Berkoff, Shumate, Rowe, Perry (1st place – 1:38.29)
  • 1,000 freestyle: Kate Moore (1st place – 9:46.16)
  • 200 freestyle: Kylee Alons (1st place – 1:45.91)
  • 100 backstroke: Katharine Berkoff (1st place – 52.38)
  • 100 breaststroke: Heather MacCausland (2nd place – 1:01.71)
  • 200 butterfly: Makayla Sargent (3rd place – 1:58.86)
  • 50 freestyle: Ky-Lee Perry (1st place – 22.61)
  • 100 freestyle: Kylee Alons (1st place – 48.78)
  • Three-meter: Madeline Kline (3rd place – 285.45)
  • 200 backstroke: Katharine Berkoff (1st place – 1:54.28)
  • 200 breaststroke: Julia Poole (1st place – 2:13.82)
  • 500 freestyle: Kate Moore (1st place – 4:49.56)
  • 100 butterfly: Sirena Rowe (2nd place – 55.35)
  • 200 IM: Julia Poole (1st place – 2:01.05)
  • 400 freestyle relay: Berkoff, Perry, Rowe, Baka (2nd – 3:18.89)

MEN’S SCORE: NC STATE, 187.5 – NORTH CAROLINA, 112.5
TOP FINISHERS:

  • Three-meter: James Brady (2nd place – 369.08)
  • 200 medley relay: Stewart, Kusto, Sobolewski, McGlaughlin (1st place – 1:26.85)
  • 1,000 freestyle: Ross Dant (1st place – 8:58.73)
  • 200 freestyle: Eric Knowles (1st place – 1:37.80)
  • 100 backstroke: Coleman Stewart (1st place – 46.17)
  • 100 breaststroke: Rafal Kusto (3rd place – 55.52)
  • 200 butterfly: Zach Brown (1st place – 1:47.23)
  • 50 freestyle: Noah Henderson (1st place – 20.56)
  • 100 freestyle: Hunter Tapp (1st place – 44.59)
  • One-meter: Bayne Bennett (3rd place – 296.18)
  • 200 backstroke: Coleman Stewart (1st place – 1:45.31)
  • 200 breaststroke: Rafal Kusto (2nd place – 2:00.61)
  • 500 freestyle: Eric Knowles (1st place – 4:23.76)
  • 100 butterfly: Luke Sobolewski (1st place – 48.18)
  • 200 IM: Rafal Kusto (1st place – 1:52.67)
  • 400 freestyle relay: Tapp, Stewart, Henderson, McGlaughlin (1st place – 2:57.42)

PRESS RELEASE – UNC WOMEN:

CHAPEL HILL — Valdas AbalikstaEmily Grund and Alex Hart were double winners for the North Carolina swimming and diving teams as the Tar Heels closed out the home dual meet schedule against NC State Friday at Koury Natatorium. Carolina dropped a pair of duals to the sixth-ranked Wolfpack, with the NCSU men winning 187.5-112.5 and the women taking a 182-118 victory.

“Overall, we had a nice meet,” head coach Mark Gangloff said. “Sometimes you get punched in the teeth during meets like this because NC State is a really developed program…we got hit a couple of times today, which was new for us this season, but I think we responded really well.”

“I think the makeup of a great team is being resilient, and I think we’re developing the skill of resiliency right now in our program.”

Abaliksta continued his outstanding season with a pair of wins in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. The junior from Lithuania was joined by teammate Jacob Rauch for a 1-2 finish in the 100, and the pair went 1-3 in the 200.

Caroline HauderBryanna Cameron and Ellie VanNote were also individual event winners on the women’s side. Hauder touched the wall in 1:00.61 to win the 100 breaststroke, while Cameron and teammate Emma Cole went 1-2 in the 200 fly. VanNote out-touched NCSU’s Sirena Rowe to win the 100 fly in 55.24.

Carolina finished the swimming competition on a high note in the 400 freestyle relay. The foursome of Grace Countie, Cole, Sophie Lindner and Hauder – led by a 48.25 anchor leg by Hauder – topped NCSU by 0.33, winning in 3:18.56.

The Tar Heel divers continued their strong season by sweeping all four events in the well. Grund was less than a point shy of her season best in the 1-meter springboard before also winning the 3-meter, with teammate Paige Burrell posting a second and third. Hart was also less than a point off a season high in the 3-meter before adding the 1-meter win.

“We’re really excited for the outcome today again,” head diving coach Yaidel Gamboa said. “A good day for the whole team on the women and men’s side. We’re just trying to take one week at a time looking toward the ACC Championships, and so far we continue to improve and that’s exciting.”

Carolina is back in action next Saturday with a road meet at Virginia.

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About Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh is a former NCAA swimmer at the University of Arizona (2013-2015) and the University of Florida (2011-2013). While her college swimming career left a bit to be desired, her Snapchat chin selfies and hot takes on Twitter do not disappoint. She's also a high school graduate of The …

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