NC State Tops USC, Hawaii in California Triangular (Video)

The North Carolina State Wolfpack headed west this past weekend, with their women’s team taking on USC and Hawaii in a triangular meet.

NC State passed along this video documenting their weekend under the California sun. Thanks to the Wolfpack swimming & diving program for the footage.

Below is NC State’s press release from the triangular meet:

LOS ANGELES, Calif.- Capitalizing on its first day of success in Los Angeles, the NC State women’s swimming and diving team held off host Southern California and Hawai’i in its two-day tri-meet Saturday morning at Uytengsu Aquatic Center.

The Wolfpack starts off its dual season with a perfect 2-0 mark, while the Trojans, who finished eighth at the 2015 NCAA Championships, move to 2-1 and the Rainbow Wahine fall to an 0-2 mark on the regular season.

In head-to-head match ups, NC State earned a 190-144 victory over Southern Cal and a 257.5-74.5 triumph over Hawai’i. Collectively, the Pack earned wins in 13 of the 18 events contested over the two-day period.

Holloway’s Statement

“This was a great win for our ladies this weekend. Southern Cal and Hawai’i are both well-coached teams, so coming out with two wins is a great accomplishment,” said head coach Braden Holloway. “Southern Cal came out today ready to compete, but the ladies were able to fight and hold them off. We had a lot of people, especially freshmen, step up today.

“It was a great team effort across the board- everyone did their job and the win was the result. Hats off as well to the energy they all brought this morning. Starting a meet at 8 a.m. isn’t the easiest thing to do, but they managed to stay positive the whole morning and race hard.

“Now it’s time to analyze our weekend, enjoy the rest of our time in California and get back to work to prepare for our dual meet against Florida State next weekend.”

Wolfpack Relays

Dominating once again on the west coast in the relay events, the Wolfpack women swept Saturday’s relays, earning wins in the 400 medley and 200 freestyle relays.

The team of Ashlyn Koletic, Kayla Brumbaum, Krista Duffield and Natalie Labonge recorded a mark of 3:40.50 to top the podium in the 400 medley relay.

In the 200 free relay, the squad of Emmie Barnhill, Christine Kerr, Mariah Hamil and Caroline Estep touched the wall in 1:31.69 to win the event, while the quartet of Courtney Caldwell, Labonge, Lotta Nevalainen and Riki Bonnemafinished third in the event with a mark of 1:34.54.

Freestyle

The Pack took the second, third and fourth spots in the overall standings of the 100 free, as Bonnema notched a time of 50.12 to place second and Nevalainen and Caldwell recorded marks of 50.76 and 50.91, respectively.

In the 500 free, Rachel Muller took the runner up spot after recording a time of 4:52.09, while Kristin Connors finished fourth with a mark of 4:58.54.

Backstroke

Alexia Zevnik managed to sweep the backstroke events on the weekend as she notched a win in the 200 back on Saturday after touching the wall in 1:57.35. Her mark was enough to tab her second NCAA ‘B’ standard time on the season.

Breaststroke

Brumbaum finished second in the 200 breaststroke after stopping the clock at 2:15.69 to also tab her second NCAA ‘B’ standard time of the year.

Butterfly 

NC State earned a strong one, two finish in the 100 butterfly as Koletic and Duffield touched the wall in 54.90 and 55.29, respectively.

Individual Medley

The Wolfpack also tabbed a one, two finish in the 200 individual medley, as Zevnik finished first with a time of 2:01.81 and Morrow followed with a mark of 2:04.14.

Springboard Action

Rachel Mumma lead the Pack again from the springboard as she won the three-meter dive with a six-dive total of 303.40. Her score is enough for a NCAA Zone B qualifying standard mark.
Up Next

The Pack will return home to prepare for its dual meet next weekend when it hosts Florida State Oct. 24 inside Casey Aquatic Center. The matchup is slated for an 11 a.m. start.