NC State
Men's NCAA Championships
Wolfpack Men Look To Continue Program Success At NCAA Championships
3/21/2016 9:34:00 PM | Swimming
The men will travel 16 to the national competition
RALEIGH- After a historical finish for the Wolfpack women last week in Atlanta in the national spotlight, the NC State men's swimming and diving team will look to continue the program's success inside Georgia Tech's McAuley Aquatic Center at the 2016 NCAA Championships.
Like the women's team the men will travel the largest group of athletes since Braden Holloway and his staff took over in 2011, as 16 will represent the Red and White at this week's national competition.
The meet will be held Wednesday through Saturday, as there will be a finals session Wednesday, followed by prelims and finals sessions the final three days. Prelims each day will begin at 10 a.m. while finals will commence at 6 p.m.
Holloway's StatementÂ
"We're excited to get the men's NCAA Championships started Wednesday. We have a great group of guys traveling down to Atlanta to represent NC State and the ACC, race hard and try to achieve some team goals that the program has their eyes on," said head coach Braden Holloway.
"We're excited about where everyone is in their training, and we look forward to racing against some great competition. The guys have prepared well and are ready to get up and race this week, so we'll look to have an exciting and fun meet."
Schedule Of Events
| Wednseday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
| 800 Freestyle Relay | 200 Freestyle Relay 500 Freestyle 200 IM 50 Freestyle One-Meter Dive 400 Medley Relay | 400 IM 100 Butterfly 200 Freestyle 100 Breaststroke 100 Backstroke Three-Meter Dive 200 Medley Relay | 200 Backstroke 100 Freestyle 200 Breaststroke 200 Butterfly Platform Dive 400 Freestyle Relay |
Last Time OutÂ
The team secured its second-straight ACC Championship title inside Greensboro Aquatic Center on Feb. 27, marking the program's 26th victory in NC State history. This marked the first time in 34 years that the program has earned back-to-back titles, as the Wolfpack came out victorious in 1981 and '82 under Don Easterling.
Through four days of competition, the Wolfpack earned 1,402 points as a team to finish 334.5 points ahead of runner-up Louisville. Additionally, the squad collected 11Â gold medals, landed on the podium 24Â times, tabbed 19 records and had 11 student-athletes earn All-ACC honors for their efforts.Â
2015 NCAA Championships Recap
The squad came away with the highest team finish in 39 years at the 2015 NCAA Championships.
As a team the Pack finished eighth in the overall standings with 199.5 points, which stands as the fifth-highest placement in program history. The last time the program earned a top-eight finish at the national championship was in 1976 under former head coach Don Easterling.
In addition to its excellence over the three days, the team racked up 26 All-America mentions and three runner-up finishes.
Pack In The Polls
The Wolfpack men finished the season at No. 7 in the final CSCAA poll, as the squad never dropped out of the top-10 the entire season. Collectively the team holds 27Â top-25 marks, including the top time in the country in four of the five relays.
Key Swims To Watch
-As relays are a large focus for the Pack, the men's team will look to score big points for the program in all five. In individual events, Simonas Bilis and Ryan Held both hold top-five times in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle while Soren Dahl holds the No. 4 time in the 200.Â
-Anton Ipsen will look to continue his successful career by representing the Pack in the distance free events. He swept the events at the 2015 and '16 ACC Championships and earned All-America honors in both events at last year's NCAAs.Â
-The backstroke duo of Andreas Schiellerup and Hennessey Stuart both hold top-20 times in the country in the 100 and 200 back while freshman Justin Ress holds the 10th-fastest mark in the 200. All three have potential to make it back in the finals in the two events, which will add valuable team points in the individual stroke events.Â
-Derek Hren tabbed his first ACC Championship event title last month in the 100 breaststroke. The school record holder will represent the Pack on the breaststroke side with potential to rack up a top-8 finish.Â
-In the 200 butterfly Christian McCurdy holds two All-America honors in the event. Holding the No. 6 time among the field heading into the week he will look to advance to the finals heat and capture his third national honor in the event.Â
Fan Information
Live results will be available for all seven sessions. ESPN3 will stream live the championship finals sessions each Friday and Saturday. All sessions not streamed by ESPN, including prelims, will be streamed live on the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships microsite.
Players Mentioned
