The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/743343
108 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER W hile Braden Holloway begins his sixth year as NC State's head swimming and div- ing coach, he can stare at his women's team roster and find confidence that this year NCSU could challenge Vir- ginia, the ACC's long-running queens of the pool. The Cavaliers have won nine straight ACC championships. Last season, NC State was second behind them. That was part of a breakout year for the Pack women's swim- ming team that also included a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, the second-best mark in school history behind the eight-place showing in the inaugural NCAA meet in 1982. Holloway feels the excitement build- ing off last season, and he appreciated the women's team eagerness to, "upping the ante in every single category they can think of." "It's going to take a full team effort," Holloway said. "I think the girls under- stand what it's going to take. They are eager to try to topple Virginia and take the 10th away from them. A lot of it is going to be a lot of role players working their way up a little bit higher to score more points at night." The foundation of the roster, Holloway confirmed, is the strongest to have ever come back from a previous year during his tenure. "We graduated some talented young la- dies, but this senior class was the one that kind of elevated us to that next level," he added. "They all came in together and wanted to create something special, and I think they've done that. ■ PREVIEW WOMEN'S SWIMMING STRONG FOUNDATION A Deep Senior Class Is Ready To Lead NC State Senior Alexia Zevnik was an All-American in 2016 in both the 100 and 200 backstroke. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS