The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1043000
110 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER N C State's women's swimming and diving team is looking to return to the top of the ACC, where it was two years ago when it won the conference title and finished seventh at the NCAA Championships. Head coach Braden Holloway is accu- mulating the type of young talent to get back there sooner rather than later. SwimSwam.com rated Holloway's freshman class No. 5 nationally, noting that Emma Muzzy and Kylee Alons "are snags we typically see go to perennial pro- grams" and stating that Sweden import Sophie Hansson "makes for another huge contributor." Hansson, in her first collegiate event for NC State, swam the fourth-fastest 100 breaststroke and third-best 200 breaststroke in school history while winning both races in a dual at South Carolina Oct. 12. Alons won the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly in Columbia, while Muzzy won the 100 and 200 backstroke and was second in the 200 individual medley. The sophomore class features talented swimmers like Tamila Holub, who finished second in the ACC last year and eighth na- tionally in the 1,650 freestyle. Kate Moore qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 400 individual medley and holds the second-fastest time in school history in the race. Julia Poole was third in the ACC and an NCAA qualifier in the 200 individual medley, where she had the second-best time at NC State all time. Both Moore and Poole are Wake County products and figure with Muzzy, the head- liner of the freshman class, to form a potent individual medley roster. "They were great," Holloway said of the sophomores' contributions. "They stepped up big time, and I love it that two of them are local young ladies, and they also had big summers. "I think now they have the mindset that Senior Elise Haan is the defending ACC champion in the 100 backstroke and is one of the best in the country in the event. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS W O M E N ' S SWIMMING PREVIEW ASSEMBLING TALENT A Young NC State Squad Has Lots Of Potential ■ Key Matches • Virginia, Jan. 26: The Cavs are the defending ACC champs and come to Raleigh for a dual meet. • ACC Championships, Feb. 20‑23: NC State hopes to regain its crown in the conference meet, which will be held in Greensboro, N.C. • NCAA Championships, March 20‑23: The Pack will be vying for a sixth straight top-20 finish at na - tionals and hopes to return to the top 10 after back- to-back finishes there in 2016-17.