The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1481002
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022 ■ 45 tion and had spent seven seasons as an assistant at Virginia Tech. He knew the Wolfpack's history, which included 17 conference titles — 15 by the men, two by the women — under longtime coach Don Easterling. That history filled him with hope that a turn- around was possible, but his excitement at the prospect of taking over the pro- gram was tempered by other emotions. "There was also a pretty high level of nervousness," he admitted. "I didn't want to come back and fail at what I wanted to do." Now that Holloway is getting set for his 12th season in Raleigh, it feels safe to say that he has not failed. Boy, has he not failed. Under his leadership, the Wolfpack men and women have combined to win nine ACC titles. In addition, the men have finished fourth in five of the past six NCAA Championships, while the women have finished as high as sec- ond (in 2021). Last season, the men were fourth and the women fifth, the best combined performance of any program in the country. Holloway's goal from the start has been sustained excellence, which means that his teams are continually refocus- ing on what lies ahead. What lies ahead for both teams in 2022-23 is another challenging slate of ACC and national rivals, and another chance to vie for team and individual honors. Berkoff Leads A Strong Women's Team One of Holloway's great recruiting successes was to bring Katharine Berkoff to Raleigh from Missoula, Mont. As a sought-after prospect, Berkoff projected the kind of personal qualities that Hollo- way thought would serve her well at the college level and beyond. "She was pretty fun to recruit," he said. "She was different. She was lighthearted and goofy on the phone. She liked to joke around. And I could sense that it was go- ing to be a trait that was pretty important for her when the intensity of expecta- tions kept building and building — that she was going to be able to manage it pretty well. And she's definitely done it to this point." Indeed, Berkoff, now a senior, has claimed a pair of NCAA championships, having taken first place in the 100-yard backstroke the past two seasons. She set a U.S. record in that race earlier this year with her time of 48.74 seconds, and in April she did the same in the 50-meter backstroke at the Phillips 66 Interna- tional Team Trials in Greensboro, N.C., winning in an American-record time of 27.12 seconds. The next step for the decorated swim- mer will be to broaden her repertoire. She's won All-America honors in the 50 and 100 freestyle events, and Hol- loway sees the potential for continued improvement. "The 100 backstroke is her baby. It's an event she absolutely loves," he said. "It drives her, and she's already set new goals for this year. "But Katharine wants to keep evolving her freestyle. It's an area where she's put just as much focus to help her evolve as a sprint freestyler, to give her three really strong events." In addition to Berkoff, the Wolfpack boasts several other veteran returnees in graduates Kylee Alons, Emma Muzzy and Andrea Podmanikova. Alons has excelled in freestyle and butterfly. She is a 27-time All-Amer- ican, while Muzzy has received All- America honors seven times, including a seventh-place showing in the 100- yard backstroke last season (1:51.18). Podmanikova finished 11th last season in the 100 breaststroke to earn All- America recognition for the third time in her career. Bolstering that group of veterans is fifth-year transfer Sarah Watson, a two-time All-American in the 100 but- terfly and 200 individual medley and a 23-time All-Mid-American Conference performer during her tenure at Akron. "I do think we're a pretty well- balanced team again," Holloway said. "Hopefully, we'll keep our relays high at NCAAs and get more ladies making the top eight so that we secure some pretty big points at NCAAs. "I think we're a team that's built to challenge again with the top couple of schools in the conference, to challenge for a conference title. But our priority will be NCAAs." 2022-23 Wolfpack Swimming Schedule Oct. 14-15 at Tennessee 5 p.m./9a.m. Oct. 21 Kentucky 5 p.m. Nov. 17-19 NC State Invitational* All Day Nov. 30-Dec. 3 Toyota U.S. Open* TBA Dec. 13-18 FINA World Championships** TBA Jan. 2-5 at Georgia Diving Invitational TBA Jan. 11-14 TYR Pro Swim Series^ TBA Jan. 14 at Duke 11 a.m. Jan. 20 at North Carolina w/Virginia 5 p.m. Jan. 21 North Carolina/Virginia 11 a.m. Jan. 27-28 at Texas TBA Jan. 28 UNC Wilmington TBA Feb. 14-18 ACC Championships* All Day Feb. 24-25 at UNC Last Chance Meet TBA March 5-8 NCAA Zone B Diving Championships^^ All Day March 15-18 Women's NCAA Championships^^ All Day March 22-25 Men's NCAA Championships # All Day * at Greensboro, N.C. ** at Melbourne, Australia ^ at Colorado Springs, Colo. ^^ at Knoxville, Tenn. # at Minneapolis