North Carolina State University Athletics
Poolside With Assistant Coach Alexis Keto
10/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Swimming
Oct. 21, 2002
This is the second in a series of entries that will follow throughout the season and provide an inside look into the NC State swimming and diving team as it works to achieve its goal of contending for a conference championship and go to the NCAA Championships. This week, assistant coach Alexis Keto shares her thoughts about the team's early season success and what lies in store versus ECU on Wednesday.
The past week showed a lot about the character and endurance of our Wolfpack Swimmers. With two meets practically back-to-back, the team really stepped up and showed how tough swimmers can be, and what great athletes we have on the team this year.
The women's team had a tight meet with Duke and Richmond on Thursday night. The freshman talent was showcased that night, but veterans also had top performances and showed their skill and leadership as well. Freshman Claire Nicholls and junior Karen Burbella performed phenomenally in first heats to score surprise, key points in the 1000 free and 200 IM respectively. A huge round of congratulations has to go out to our diving team, led by freshman Molly Culberson and senior Erin Bailey, for pulling through and coming up big with points to the Wolfpack a win.
With all the tension and excitement of Thursday, it was a difficult turn-around for the women on Saturday against Maryland. Although they fought valiantly, the spirit of the first meet of the for the Terrapins overwhelmed a weary Wolfpack squad, despite bright spots of Catherine Parks with an awesome win in the 200 fly and the diving team again with key wins on both boards. The intensity of the team shows the Pack can rebound physically and mentally from a hard Fall Break of workouts and perform against high-caliber teams, which should serve them well as the season progresses.
The men had a good opportunity against Duke to get out the first meet jitters, especially with a freshmen-loaded team. Freshmen Seth Hoffman and John Hudson both posted season-best times as well as victories in their first dual meet. The victory over the Blue Devils motivated the Pack Men to really get excited about racing a tough Maryland squad on Saturday. The highlight of the meet was the 1-2-3-4 sweep of the 200 IM by the quartet of Rob Yeager, Chris Nixon, Steven Cowling and co-captain Cristian Rojas - which I'll have to say was pretty darn cool.
So, now we look onto to ECU, which is always a high-energy meet for the Wolfpack as the Pirates come enter the meet fired-up each year. Each year it becomes more and more competitive, as both teams gain talent onto their rosters, and this year looks to be no different. Early prediction? It'll be a tight meet for both men and women, but look for the Wolfpack to show Red Legend Pride and come out victorious.
