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Since tonight is a slow sports night (/s), let me close the summary of the NCAA Swimming Championships (I apologize for not updating earlier for those following the thread).
The Pack finished in fourth place, matching last year’s finish (which happened to be the best ever!). The first four teams were the same as last year: Texas, Cal, Florida, NC State. I want to emphazise how great it is to see the the Pack in the top five of this sport for two consecutive years. This would be the equivalent of doing it in basketball in three years’ time. (A little history, we were great until the mid 80s, then kind of disappeared, hired an alum a few years ago, and now we are in consecutive “final fours”.)
After winning the 800 relay on the first night, there were no other relay or individual titles for the Pack, but this was a meet in which we met expectations (imagine that!). Ryan Held had a third place finish in the 100 free, and a fourth place in the 100 fly. Andreas Vazaios was another A finalist for the Pack, finishing fifth in the 200 fly and eight in the 100 back. Anton Ipsen finished seventh in the mile. Those three swimmers are juniors, so those should be good points for the Pack next year. Senior Soeren Dahl was the other individual finalist, finishing seventh in the 200 free. NC State also had two more relays in the top eight; 200 medley in sixth place and 400 free in seventh place (couldn’t defend last year’s title).
I don’t follow swimming to the point of knowing recruiting rankings and the like, but it seems that the freshman class of 2017 is a strong one, so we should still be favorites in the ACC next year. Go Pack!
In a somewhat disappointing evening, the Pack left some good points on the table, as it is currently placed in fourth place, behind Texas, California and Florida.
In the 200 free relay, State placed 4th, just a bit slower than in the morning heat. Even matching their morning time would not have made any difference in the final results.
In the 500 free, Anton Ipsen finished 8th, matching his seeding after the heats. Adam Linker placed 15th in the B final.
The 200 IM was the race that I thought we may see another national title for the Pack, since Andreas Vazaios finished 2nd in the heats. In a much slower race for all swimmers, Vazaios placed 7th, going almost one second lower than in the heats. Soeren Dhal finished 16th in the B final.
The best result for State came in the 50 free, where Ryan Held finished 2nd, just behind Dressel, but beating another Olympic champion (although in the 100 fly), Joseph Schooling. Held went 0.32 faster than in the heats with 18.60, but Dressel proved to still be at another level in this event, finishing in 18.23.
After the diving finals (I would like to know why we don’t have any divers here, maybe someone with inside knowledge can comment), the Pack swam in the B final of the 400 IM relay, matching the 12th place after the heats.
Quick summary of the morning heats:
– 200 free relay: State qualifies for the A final with the third best time, only 0.21 seconds behind Texas and 0.04 behind Florida. Anything can happen in this relay, we may win it all or finish out of the top three.
– 500 free: Anton Ipsen barely gets into the A final in 8th place. Adam Linker will swim in the B final (each final has 8 swimmers/teams, all 16 get points).
– 200 medley: In the best individual swim of the day for State, Andreas Vazaios qualifies in 2nd place for the A final. Soeren Dahl makes the B final.
– 50 free: Olympic gold medalist Ryan Held swims the 3rd best time to get to the A final. Caeleb Dressel from Florida, another Olympic gold medal winner, seems to be in a different league in this race, will be though to beat.
– 400 medley relay: This is probably the weakest of all relays for State. With an alternative lineup, State qualifies for the B final in 12th place.
I don’t really have an opinion on the guy, but I think it’s a hire that makes total sense. I’m not saying it’s the best option, but it may be the smartest option.
Dr Yow is going to be here for another two long years, that was not going to change. Gott was going to burn the program to the ground at that pace, so that is that.
Hiring Keatts would probably be a boom or bust situation; he either has it or he doesn’t, and we will know quickly. Any coach will get at least two years here, so by the time the new AD rolls in, he or she will decide if a coaching change is required.
The “big” names knew this and I’m guessing that’s what kept most of them out. An up and comer like Keatts was maybe our only option given this situation. If he continues what we had the last two seasons, the new AD will give him a third year and then he will be out. A bigger” name, particularly an alumni who is not of the liking of his new boss, will be much harder to fire.
Thanks for posting this in the front page!
Not only we became a household name in the college swimming world, we have the equivalent 5 star recruits transferring in to the program.
The Wolfpack closed the meet in big way, winning their first relay ever! They took the 400 free, only 0.04 seconds ahead of Texas. It was the first and only win for the Pack in this NCAAs, but it was an overall great performance, finishing 4th in the final standings, the best finish ever (there was a 5th place in the 50s).
Senior Simonas Bilis earned a second place in the 100 free, with 41.18, the fifth best time ever. Sophomore Ryan Held placed 4th in the same race. Earlier in the day, Anton Ipsen finished 5th in the mile, and Adam Linker finished 16th, giving another point to the Pack. Hennessey Stuart earned a third place in the 200 back, and Christian Mccurdy a fifth place in the 200 fly.
For those following this thread, I’m sorry I couldn’t update Friday night (soccer commitments), but Wolfpack had another third place finish with Simonas Bilis in the 200 free, and also had Ryan Held and Soeren Dahl in the B Final, placing 9th and 10th. Hennessey Stuart and Andreas Shiellerup finished 7th and 15th in the 100 back. The final race on Friday had NC State finish 10th in the 200 medley relay.
The Pack has shown tremendous improvement in the last five years with coach Braden Holloway, in what I think was the best DY hire. Not only has NC State regained ACC dominance, but they became a major program in the country. Go Pack!
^ Yes choppack, espn3 is showing the finals tonight and tomorrow. Starts at 6.
This Dressel kid is insane. He has an amazing underwater dolphin kick, which is not very common in the 50 free. That obviously helps him in the 25y pool, but I’d like to see how that translates to the 50m pool this summer, which doesn’t have any turns. I still expect him to medal in Rio, he couldn’t be slower than 21.50.
At the end of the second day of the NCAAs, State stands at fourth place, just 5 points behind California. Texas sits at the top, and it seems that they could just get the trophy tonight, they are just too strong.
The Pack started with a second place in the 200 free relay, behind, you guessed it, Texas. Sophomore Ryan Held put a monster anchor leg at 18:28, but Texas prevailed. In the 500 free, State got a 7th and 15th place, with Anton Ipsen and Adam Linker, respectively. Christian Mccurdy scored a couple of points for State in the 200 IM, placing 15th. In the 50 free, Simonas Bilis placed second with 18.84, miles behind Caeleb Dressel from Florida who set a new American record with 18.20 (remember that name this Summer in the Olympics). Ryan Held (7th) and Andreas Schiellerup (15th) also scored for the Pack in the 50 free. In the last race of the night, 400 IM relay, State placed 8th in the final.
Good chance for State to score some points tomorrow in the 200 free and 200 IM relay. Go Pack!
Class of 2006 here. I wouldn’t have imagined that we are top 10, it seemed that we always fell short at everything (excluding the ND game, of course).
Best memory goes back to a couple of years ago though. I was back in grad school, my sister was a freshman, only year we spent together at State. We went to that Maryland game, when we were down by something like 50 points. I told my sister to take a picture of the scoreboard because we were coming back. I’m kidding you not. Everyone left, except Mr. Wuf and the cheerleaders. I believe Ms. Wuf left too. But we came back, I probably high fived more than anytime in my life. I was there with my sister to see it. Good times.
