The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1177236
104 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER N C State men's swimming and diving coach Braden Hollo- way is replacing a lot of major point scorers for him during his team's recent stretch of domi- nation. That Pack has won five straight ACC championships and finished on the podium at the NCAA title meet with four consecutive fourth-place finishes. The list of stars now gone reads like the who's who of Wolfpack swimming greats: Ryan Held, Anton Ipsen, Andreas Vazaios, Justin Ress, Jacob Molacek and Simonas Bilis. Vazaios, Ress and Molacek helped lead the way last year for the Pack, with Vazaios becoming the first NC State swimmer to win back-to-back individual national titles. "We did lose some big-time NCAA points," Holloway acknowledged. "But I think at the same time, it's unique. I've already found myself teaching more with all these new freshmen. "Obviously, our team this year is com- pletely different. We have a few big dogs that are still here that are going to carry the load." It helps immensely that Holloway still has senior Coleman Stewart, who won the national title in the 100 backstroke in 2018 and narrowly missed defending it when he finished second last year. Stewart was also a close second in the 100 butterfly and fourth in the 200 backstroke in 2019. "Coleman Stewart is a stud, and he's had a great career," Holloway noted. "He wants to go out on top and continue to do well. I think the biggest thing he brings is his intensity, his fire. His passion for this team, that the freshmen get to see, and to be quite honest, they get to see someone fast every single day. "Even on [Stewart's] bad day, for these freshmen it is really fast." Sophomore Nyls Korstanje was named the ACC Freshman of the Year last season, after he earned All-America honors in both the 50 and 100 freestyle. Korstanje was the first Wolfpack freshman to break 20 seconds in the 50 and 42 seconds in the 100. Holloway said that Korstanje is "the top dog" for NC State in the sprint freestyle and should serve as a leader for some of the talented freshmen on the roster. Junior Eric Knowles returns after a breakout campaign in which he won the ACC title in the 500 freestyle and then was an All-American in the 1,650 free- THE NEXT WAVE NC State Looks For New Faces To Carry On The Tradition Senior Coleman Stewart won the national title in the 100 backstroke in 2018, and had a trio of top-four finishes in 2019 (second in the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly, and fourth in the 200 backstroke). PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS MEN'S SWIMMING PREVIEW