North Carolina State University Athletics
2003-04 Women's Swimming and Diving Outlook
10/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Swimming
Oct. 16, 2003
The Wolfpack is geared up for an exciting season and hopes to put a number of its swimmers in the fast lane at the ACC Championships in late February.
"We have reason to believe that this is going to be a year in which the Wolfpack makes a statement in the league," says Teal. "We anticipate moving up in the conference rankings, and are excited about our probability of sending some women to the NCAA Championships this spring."
NC State lost only five seniors from a year ago and returns a majority of its point scorers. While the team is dominated by youth, it has the senior leadership of captains Karen Burbella and Priscilla Humberstone to rely on.
"These two have a great work ethic and strive to be the best in and out of the pool," Teal says. "Leadership is an important part in the pyramid of success, and that is one area we have covered."
Sprint Freestyle
Much like last year, the Wolfpack will look for speed from its young swimmers. Kendall Smith was a solid performer throughout the season in the sprint events.
The squad will also welcome the services of its newcomers to the sprint events. Rebecca Perry, Melissa Jamerino and Halle Kiehlmier will add depth to a team that has a need for speed in the sprints.
Perry said no to several top-10 teams by committing to NC State, and enters with solid credentials. Jamerino was an Academic All-American and Kiehlmier was a seven-time All-American. "We have a lot of young talent that looks promising," says Teal. "We are really excited about this group and think they will make an impact immediately."
 Catherine Parks is expected to be a big contributor in the mid-distance freestyle.  |
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Catherine Parks, Kendall Smith and Jenny Bland are the experienced swimmers in the mid-distance group. Parks was solid in the 200 and 500, narrowly missing scoring marks at ACCs.
The coaching staff is excited about the emergence of freshman Kerry Whitson during fall workouts.
"Kerry comes in with impressive credentials," says Teal. "We think she can develop into one of the league's elite freestyle swimmers."
Distance
The Wolfpack is looking for some positive things to come out of this season's distance group. With the addition of newcomers Lindsay Barwegan and Amy Baskwell, the coaching staff feels it has reason to be optimistic about the potentiall success of the group.
"We want to see some improvements made in the distance events," says Teal. "Lindsay and Amy have the potential to step right in and contribute immediately."
The squad returns Claire Nicholls and Abby Lewis, both of whom gave consistent contributions during duals last season.
Backstroke
The team returns a solid group of backstrokers in Jessica Koenig, Rachel Bumgardner and Kendall Smith. Koenig stepped in last season and made an impact immediately. She scored in every backstroke event she participated in, and made night swims at the ACC Championships.
Mallory Estill promises to bring speed to the 100, having previously posted a time of 57.31 in the event.
Butterfly
The butterfly was a youth-led movement last season, with freshmen and sophomores turning in the team's top three times. Jessica Koenig led the 100 with a fast time of 57.08, and Laura Cutler was second on the team in the 100 fly. A workhorse in the 200 fly, Cutler turned in a team-leading 2:03.29 at the championships.
"The butterfly group will be called upon to score points all season," says Teal. "We have a lot of faith in this group and have seen continuous progress. The group's work ethic has improved tremendously. The event could be a real strength for us by championship season."
Liz Herron, Rachel Bumgardner and Karen Burbella also add experience to the group, while freshmen Mallory Estill and Melissa Jamerino look to find their place and add depth.
 Erin Trau ranks in the top-10 all-time top performances for the breaststroke. |
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The breaststroke is one of the squad's deepest events. The team placed four women in the finals at ACCs in the 100 and six in the 200 last season. Erin Trau's time of 2:20.00 at the championships fell into the Wolfpack's top-10 all-time performances list at No. 8. Trau, who was consistent in both events a year ago, is expected to pick up where she left off and continue to climb toward the top of the record books this season.
"This group has tremendous depth," says Teal. "If we can get the group to take a few seconds off of its times, we should be able to contend near the top tier of the conference this season."
Priscilla Humberston and Lola Woodworth, an Olympic Trials qualifier, gained a lot of experince last season and are expected to step up during the duals and championship seasons. Jenny Bland, who was sidelined last season with mono, should also contribute immensely throughout the year. Lindsay Barwegan should also contribute successfully.
 Senior captain Karen Burbella hopes to rewrite the record books in the IM this season. |
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The Wolfpack's IM group is solid, and should contend in the finals at this year's championships. Karen Burbella and Jessica Koenig had a number of great swims last season, but fell short at ACCs. They have made strides toward bettering their performances and are ready for the new season.
"We feel we truly have two of the finest medley swimmers in the conference," says Teal. "Jess and Karen are great swimmers. Jess should have a breakout season, and Karen has the potential to rewrite the record books. Both certainly have a chance at swimming in the finals at ACCs this year."
Burbella already possesses the school record in the 400 with a time of 4:21.82, and Koenig is second in both the 200 and 400.
The squad will look for others to step up and add depth throughout the year. Among those could be Laura Cutler, who swam in the consolation finals of both the 200 and the 100 last season.
Relays
Prior to the start of the season, question marks surround the lineups for the women's relays, but to be sure, the fastest women will be in the pool.
"We want to concentrate on our relays. They are important in moving up the ACC rankings," says Teal. "We are going to be much much deeper, and have a plethora of talent this season. We will see what develops as the season progresses, but we certainly intend to improve on last year's finishes."
Diving
Molly Culberson returns as perhaps the conference's top diver. As a freshman a year ago, she took bronze on the three-meter and earned All-ACC honors. With experience under her belt, she should show improvement this season.
"Molly was superb last season," says Teal. "Candler has done so much with our diving group, and with Molly, he found a real winner. We are excited about her return and look forward to seeing her grow this year."
Shelby Kosova, Ashley Lamberton, Abby Griffith and Christy Welch also return for the Wolfpack.
