North Carolina State University Athletics
Poolside With Caroline Curran
11/20/2002 12:00:00 AM | Swimming
Nov. 20, 2002
Both the men's and women's team had successful meets at Virginia Tech. The men remain undefeated at 6-0, while the women fell to the Hokies, and are now 5-3 on the season. Although the women didn't get the win, there was a handful of exceptional swims, which ultimately surpassed the lack of points needed to ensure a victory.
The Virginia Tech record board now boasts a total of six wolfpack swimmers. Rob Yeager (200 breastroke) and the 400 Freestyle relay team (John Hudson, Christian Rojas, Justin Smith, and Scott Dettloff) joined Anna Maria Gazda, who previously held the 200 backstroke record.
Perhaps the highlight of the women's competition was the Wolfpack sweep of the 200 butterfly by Karen Burbella, Catherine Parks, and Laura Cutler, respectively. The 200 butterfly is becoming one of the women's dominant events this year. These girls are sure to be huge contributors at ACC's. Other individual winners include Jessica Koenig, with a lifetime best in the 200 individual medley, and Anna Maria Gazda, who continues to be a strong force in the 200 backstroke.
The men remain undefeated largely due to the efforts of Chris Nixon, Dan Kesler and Seth Hoffman, who swept the first individual event of the meet (1000 freestlye) and consequently set the tone for the rest of the meet. Jack Deal and Jorge Gutierrez played a huge role with their one-two finish in the 500 freestyle.
This week, the Pack is preparing for the Nike Cup, which will serve as a trial run for the ACC championship in February. It will be held at UNC and will feature Big Ten power house, Michigan, on the women's side. The men's competition will include the former NCAA and SEC champions, Tennessee. The women will have the opportunity to, yet again, face the non-conference competition of both Virginia Tech and ECU. The coaches and the swimmers expect to see some season's best times, as well as some break-out performances due to the hard work, which has been put into the season so far. Although February is still in the distant future, the Pack is ready to make a huge impression on the rest of the ACC.
Go Pack!
