The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/896287
106 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER N C State had a goal in 2017: dethrone nine-time defending ACC cham- pion Virginia. The Wolfpack did just that, and it followed up by fin- ishing a program-best seventh at the NCAA Championships. That group was led by a deep and talented senior class, highlighted by Alexia Zevnik, who finished second at the NCAA Champi- onships in the 200-yard backstroke, sixth in the 200 individual medley and 11th in the 100 backstroke, and was named the ACC's Most Valuable Female Swimmer. In addition, junior Courtney Caldwell has been lost for the season with an injury and will redshirt. Caldwell was an honorable All- American in the 100 freestyle, and she was strong on the ACC title-winning team with a third-place finish in the conference meet in the 50 free and fourth in the 100 backstroke. "We are going to be looking for other veterans to lead us, girls like [junior] Elise Haan or [senior] Hannah Moore and [senior] Krista Duffield," head coach Braden Hol- loway noted. "I think there are some that are going to be leaders for us, but we have a very young team. "The nice thing from last year is they cre- ated a high expectation of how we can per- form day in and day out that the freshmen don't really know any different and have to meet that expectation all the time. "It's resetting another climb and another few years of building to a point where we can be better than we were last year." Moore will continue to pave the way for NC State in the distance freestyle swims. She won bronze this summer at the World Uni- versity Games in the 1,500 free, and finished fifth at the NCAA Championships in both the 500 and 1,650 free. She is joined on this year's team by her younger sister, freshman Kathleen Moore. "They actually train together a good bit, and they enjoy it," Holloway noted. "Hannah has been the first to say having Kate here has really helped her. "Kate's a little different. She is really low- key and has provided some balance for Han- nah, and at the same time Hannah has been able to provide structure for Kate. They've actually done really well for each other." Haan was honorable mention All-Ameri- can in the 100 backstroke last season and then won gold over the summer in the 100-meter backstroke at the U.S. Open. Duffield has been a valuable contributor on NC State's relay teams and qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 50 and 100 free plus the 100 butterfly. ■ PREVIEW WOMEN'S SWIMMING PASSING THE TORCH A Young NC State Squad Aims To Pick Up Where Last Year's Seniors Left Off Senior Hannah Moore won bronze in the 1,500 freestyle this summer at the World University Games, and finished fifth at the NCAA Championships in both the 500 and 1,650 free. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS ■ Key Meets • Vs. Texas in Raleigh, Nov. 10: The Longhorn women are not quite the powerhouse that the men have been in recent years thanks to Stanford's dominance, but the squad is still ranked No. 2 in the coaches' poll. • ACC Women's Swimming Championships at Greens- boro, N.C, Feb. 14-17: NC State hopes to defend its crown in the conference meet. • NCAA Swimming And Diving Championships at Columbus, Ohio, March 14-17: The Pack will be vying for a third straight top-10 finish at nationals after finishing ninth in 2016 and seventh a season ago.