North Carolina State University Athletics
Swimming & Diving Names Captains for 2011-12
9/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Swimming
Sept. 28, 2011
RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State swimming and diving head coach Braden Holloway announced his program captains for the 2011-12 school year today. Seniors Daniel Basler and Conor Brennan will lead the men alongside freshman Michael Camper, while junior Marifrances Henley and senior Erica Waters will set the tone for the women.
Basler hails from Winston-Salem, N.C., and will compete in backstroke and butterfly events.
"Daniel is a lead-by-example guy," said Holloway. "He's a bit more reserved, keeps his emotions inside, but gets the job done and helps to educate the team on what's asked of them and exactly what role they have."
Brennan, out of Littleton, Colo., will see action in sprint freestyles. He posted the second-best 100 freestyle and third-best 50 freestyle on the roster last season. He also owns a share of the second fastest 400-medley relay in the school record book.
"Conor is a motivator," said Holloway. "He is vocal. He is tenacious. He is very energetic, and he is a big leader for this team. He works hard, gets after it and commands the respect and attention of his teammates."
Camper, fresh out of Fredericksburg, Va., was named a captain after just one month of immersion in the program. With the rareness of a true freshman being named a captain, it's clear he's made a big impact in a short amount of time. He will see time in backstroke swims.
"It's obvious he loves this program inside and out," said Holloway. "He is the epitome of what a student-athlete should be like. He is the high character kind of guy that we are looking at as the model for building this program moving forward."
Henley, a freestyle specialist out of Memphis, Tenn., owns the school record in the 200 freestyle, is second in the 500 freestyle, and holds two other top-10 all-time individual marks. She is also co-owner of three school relay records, including the 200-, 400- and 800-freestyle relays.
"I tried to recruit her at Virginia Tech when I was there," said Holloway. "She leads by example, has a great work ethic and really wants the program to evolve. She sets goals for herself and tries to relay that to her teammates."
Waters, also from Winston-Salem, is a vital cog in the sprint freestyle corps. She holds the seventh-best mark in State history in the 100 freestyle, and joined Henley on the record setting 400- and 800-freestyle relays.
"Erica's a good communicator," said Holloway. "She's helped to be a liaison between the team and the staff, and she's a senior that's really bought into everything that we are trying to do."
