The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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102 ■ THE WOLFPACKER "She is wise, she's mature," Holloway said. "She understands her body and how to communicate to the staff so we can make sure we get the most out of her each week. She understands nutrition very well and recovery. "She's also starting this year much more comfortable than last year last year." Holloway said that junior Olivia Calegan has had a great summer and should add depth to the breaststroke races for the Pack. Sophomore Kylee Alons was an All- American after a top-eight finish in the 50 freestyle in her rookie season. She also broke the program record in the 100 and 200 butterfly, and has the second fastest 50 freestyle time behind Perry. Another talented sophomore is Emma Muzzy, who won the ACC title in the 200 backstroke and has already posted the second fastest 400 individual medley in school history. Senior Mackenzie Glover battled various ailments a year ago and missed the ACC and NCAA meets, but she rebounded with a strong summer during which she won the bronze medal in the 200 backstroke at the Pan American Games. Junior Kate Moore gives the Pack some firepower in the distance swims. She won the ACC title in the 400 individual medley (an event in which she holds the school re- cord) and reached the B finals at the NCAA meet to earn All-America honors in the 500 freestyle. Her classmate and fellow Raleigh-area native Julia Poole was the ACC champ and an All-American in the 200 individual medley and has the second fastest time in the race at NC State all time. Senior Makayla Sargent came on strong last year and after finishing second to Moore at the ACC meet in the 400 indi- vidual medley, she went on to be an All- American in the race. Sargent also was third in the conference in the 1,650 free- style. The distance races are one area where NC State took a hit due to the graduation of Anna Jahns and Tamila Holub electing to turn pro. NC State is also bringing in a talented freshman class, headlined by Katharine Berkoff, who was rated by SwimSwam. com as the No. 3 performer in the 2019 class. Holloway noted that her best events are the backstroke, but she has the versatil- ity to race in other events. ■ Senior Ky-lee Perry earned All-America honors in both the 50 and 100 freestyle at the NCAA Championships last season, and is having the best fall of her career. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS ■ By The Numbers 4 Ranking for NC State's incoming freshman class nationally, according to SwimSwam.com. 4 Pack's ranking in the preseason College Swimming Coaches Association of America poll. 11 Event titles won at the 2019 ACC Championships, the most in program history. Newcomer To Watch Freshman Katharine Berkoff from Missoula, Mont., arrives at NC State with a lot of expec- tations. SwimSwam.com rated her as the No. 3 swimmer nationally in the 2019 class. Head coach Braden Holloway said that her versatility in the pool compares favorably to sophomore Kylee Alons, who swam freestyle, butterfly, backstroke and individual medley to great effectiveness last year. "Her best races are the backstrokes so she'll do those primarily, but her ability to do a lot of other events we want to make sure we keep open," Hol - loway said. "She'll definitely swim a lot of different events for us this year." Noting The Pack • The future only looks bright for Pack women's swimming and diving. Head coach Braden Holloway recently landed a verbal commitment from Grace Sheble of North Chesterfield, Va. Sheble is the No. 3 swimmer nationally in the 2021 class according to SwimSwam.com. In the 2020 class, Abby Arens from Raleigh is pledged to swim for NC State. Arens is rated No. 12 in CollegeSwimming.com, which also has NCSU commitment Megan Pulley from Glen Allen, Va., at No. 25. • NC State is in the planning stages for con - structing a new outdoor pool that will also have a platform diving board. Holloway cannot say much about the project yet other than confirming a group has been selected to do it. • Dan Kalupski, who has been a volunteer as- sistant the past two seasons for NC State, was pro- moted to a full-time role in the summer. Kalupski was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at MIT prior to coming to Raleigh. "I think the next step for us is putting ourselves in position to get some women to win some national championships, whether it's relays or individual. That's the next step — getting one of those under our belt, and also getting as many people as we can [qualified] for the Olympic games." ■ Head coach Braden Holloway