North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Sends Five to FINA World Championships
7/19/2017 2:10:00 PM | Swimming
RALEIGH, N.C. – Following a season that saw the NC State men's & women's swimming & diving teams both secure top-ten finishes at the NCAA Championships, the Wolfpack will be sending five swimmers to the FINA World Championships, being held in Budapest, Hungary. The swimming portion of the event runs from July 23-30.
Rising junior Justin Ress will be representing the U.S. in the 50-meter backstroke, after he recently captured first place at the U.S. Nationals/World Championship Trials, held in Indianapolis, Indiana. His time of 24.41 seconds broke the former Championship record (24.52 seconds), which had been held by former Olympic backstroke medalist David Plummer since 2013.
After being named ACC Male Freshman of the Year in 2016, Ress played an integral role in the Pack's fourth-place finish at the 2017 NCAA Championships. He was an NCAA Champion in the 800-yard freestyle relay, and earned All-America Honors in the 200, 400 and 800-yard freestyle relays, along with the 200 and 400-yard medley relays, as well as the 100-yard freestyle. Ress' time of 1:40.26 in the 200-yard backstroke is currently the second-fastest finish in NC State history, while he also holds the third-fastest time in program history for the 100-yard freestyle, 42.12 seconds.
Though teammates at NC State, rising senior Anton Ipsen will be aiming to help the Danish squad overcome Ress and the U.S. team, as he will be competing in the 400, 800, and 1500-meter freestyle events.
Along with receiving All-America honors in each of his three seasons with the Pack, Ipsen also holds program records in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 3:41.57 (2017), while the 4:11.73 finish he recorded in 2017 in the 400-yard freestyle is also a program best. Along with these, he also holds the program record in the 1650-yard freestyle, with a time of 14:34.85.
Andreas Vazaios, who recently completed his first year of eligibility with the Pack and was an Olympic qualifier in 2012 and 2016 for the Greek national team, also qualified for the World Championships in the 100-meter butterfly and 200-meter individual medley.
Vazaios says:
"We have all developed into a family through being part of the team here. While many of us are on different teams this time around, we will all be cheering and supporting each other, and it will be great having them in Budapest. They are all great swimmers and worked extremely hard to make their national team.
The coaching staff at NC State played a major role in my preparation for the World Championships . I am practicing with Coach DeSorbo and he really understood what I needed to work on both in and out of the water in order to improve my times, we have been working on the specifics of my main event(200 individual medley) and how I can get faster.
I'm hoping that everyone does well and that the work we have put in will help us meet our expectation and our goals."
Vazaios was a 2017 NCAA Champion in the 800-yard freestyle relay, and earned All-America honors in the 800-yard freestyle relay, 200-yard butterfly, 100-yard backstroke, and 400-yard medley relay. His 1:40.77 finish in the 200-yard butterfly is a program best for the Pack, along with his time of 45.26 in the 100-meter backstroke. Along with these two program records, Vazaios also holds the record for the 200-yard individual medley, with a time of 1:40.77.
A name very familiar to Wolfpack swimming & diving fans, Simonas Bilis, will be representing Lithuania at the World Championships. Bilis, whose final year of eligibility was 2016, will be competing in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle and 400-meter medley relay.
Bilis had a storied career at NC State, as he was named 2016 and 2015 ACC Swimmer of the Year, along with being a 2016 NCAA Champion in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Bilas was also honored as an All-American and All-ACC performer in each of his four seasons with the Wolfpack. He was an Olympic Games qualifier in 2016 in the 50 and 100-meter freestyle events.
Lotta Nevalainen of the Pack women's swimming & diving team, who also recently completed her final year of eligibility, will be representing Finland in the 100-meter freestyle, 400-meter medley mixed relay and 400-meter medley relay.
Nevalainen was a key contributor to NC State's seventh place finish at the 2017 NCAA Championships, the highest finish in program history, as she earned All-America honors in the 400-yard freestyle relay. She currently holds the fourth-fastest time in program history for both the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke, with times of 48.12 and 58.12 seconds respectively.
Coach Holloway says:
"Our staff is absolutely elated and proud of our members that will be heading to the World Championships and the World University Games. In a non-Olympic year, the World Championships is the top elite meet, and just getting there is a testament to the individuals' hard work every single day in and out of the pool. To see it pay off is just gratifying for all the coaches involved, and watching their process continue toward this meet and the elite level. It's just great to see.
With Anton and Andreas, they've been to this meet before, Anton has been top five in the world in short course meters and they're no strangers to this meet. They'll be ready to perform at the highest level.
For Justin, it's an unbelievable finish to his first two seasons, his progress through a couple different groups and us moving him around, thriving with the coaching staff, and just to see it come to fruition, this plan that we talked about two years ago is starting to happen and that is cool to see.
Lotta finishing her career on a high note and earning a trip to represent Finland at the World Championships, you just can't beat it.
For our program, it just continues to show that we're not just about developing the student-athletes during the collegiate season. We're developing them all across the board, in college and also representing their countries at the highest level we can possibly make."
Schedule
More information on the World Championships can be found here, while highlights and video recaps be found here.
Stay up to date with the latest on NC State swimming and diving:
Twitter: @packswimdive
Facebook: NC State Swimming and Diving
Instagram: @packswimdive
Rising junior Justin Ress will be representing the U.S. in the 50-meter backstroke, after he recently captured first place at the U.S. Nationals/World Championship Trials, held in Indianapolis, Indiana. His time of 24.41 seconds broke the former Championship record (24.52 seconds), which had been held by former Olympic backstroke medalist David Plummer since 2013.
After being named ACC Male Freshman of the Year in 2016, Ress played an integral role in the Pack's fourth-place finish at the 2017 NCAA Championships. He was an NCAA Champion in the 800-yard freestyle relay, and earned All-America Honors in the 200, 400 and 800-yard freestyle relays, along with the 200 and 400-yard medley relays, as well as the 100-yard freestyle. Ress' time of 1:40.26 in the 200-yard backstroke is currently the second-fastest finish in NC State history, while he also holds the third-fastest time in program history for the 100-yard freestyle, 42.12 seconds.
Though teammates at NC State, rising senior Anton Ipsen will be aiming to help the Danish squad overcome Ress and the U.S. team, as he will be competing in the 400, 800, and 1500-meter freestyle events.
Along with receiving All-America honors in each of his three seasons with the Pack, Ipsen also holds program records in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 3:41.57 (2017), while the 4:11.73 finish he recorded in 2017 in the 400-yard freestyle is also a program best. Along with these, he also holds the program record in the 1650-yard freestyle, with a time of 14:34.85.
Andreas Vazaios, who recently completed his first year of eligibility with the Pack and was an Olympic qualifier in 2012 and 2016 for the Greek national team, also qualified for the World Championships in the 100-meter butterfly and 200-meter individual medley.
Vazaios says:
"We have all developed into a family through being part of the team here. While many of us are on different teams this time around, we will all be cheering and supporting each other, and it will be great having them in Budapest. They are all great swimmers and worked extremely hard to make their national team.
The coaching staff at NC State played a major role in my preparation for the World Championships . I am practicing with Coach DeSorbo and he really understood what I needed to work on both in and out of the water in order to improve my times, we have been working on the specifics of my main event(200 individual medley) and how I can get faster.
I'm hoping that everyone does well and that the work we have put in will help us meet our expectation and our goals."
Vazaios was a 2017 NCAA Champion in the 800-yard freestyle relay, and earned All-America honors in the 800-yard freestyle relay, 200-yard butterfly, 100-yard backstroke, and 400-yard medley relay. His 1:40.77 finish in the 200-yard butterfly is a program best for the Pack, along with his time of 45.26 in the 100-meter backstroke. Along with these two program records, Vazaios also holds the record for the 200-yard individual medley, with a time of 1:40.77.
A name very familiar to Wolfpack swimming & diving fans, Simonas Bilis, will be representing Lithuania at the World Championships. Bilis, whose final year of eligibility was 2016, will be competing in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle and 400-meter medley relay.
Bilis had a storied career at NC State, as he was named 2016 and 2015 ACC Swimmer of the Year, along with being a 2016 NCAA Champion in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Bilas was also honored as an All-American and All-ACC performer in each of his four seasons with the Wolfpack. He was an Olympic Games qualifier in 2016 in the 50 and 100-meter freestyle events.
Lotta Nevalainen of the Pack women's swimming & diving team, who also recently completed her final year of eligibility, will be representing Finland in the 100-meter freestyle, 400-meter medley mixed relay and 400-meter medley relay.
Nevalainen was a key contributor to NC State's seventh place finish at the 2017 NCAA Championships, the highest finish in program history, as she earned All-America honors in the 400-yard freestyle relay. She currently holds the fourth-fastest time in program history for both the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke, with times of 48.12 and 58.12 seconds respectively.
Coach Holloway says:
"Our staff is absolutely elated and proud of our members that will be heading to the World Championships and the World University Games. In a non-Olympic year, the World Championships is the top elite meet, and just getting there is a testament to the individuals' hard work every single day in and out of the pool. To see it pay off is just gratifying for all the coaches involved, and watching their process continue toward this meet and the elite level. It's just great to see.
With Anton and Andreas, they've been to this meet before, Anton has been top five in the world in short course meters and they're no strangers to this meet. They'll be ready to perform at the highest level.
For Justin, it's an unbelievable finish to his first two seasons, his progress through a couple different groups and us moving him around, thriving with the coaching staff, and just to see it come to fruition, this plan that we talked about two years ago is starting to happen and that is cool to see.
Lotta finishing her career on a high note and earning a trip to represent Finland at the World Championships, you just can't beat it.
For our program, it just continues to show that we're not just about developing the student-athletes during the collegiate season. We're developing them all across the board, in college and also representing their countries at the highest level we can possibly make."
Schedule
| Date | Athlete | Event |
| 7/23 | Anton Ipsen | 400 freestyle |
| 7/25 | Anton Ipsen | 800 freestyle (heat) |
| 7/26 | Anton Ipsen | 800 freestyle (final) |
| Andreas Vazaios | 200 individual medley | |
| Simonas Bilis | 100 freestyle | |
| Lotta Nevalainen | 400 medley mixed relay | |
| 7/27 | Lotta Nevalainen | 100 freestyle |
| 7/28 | Andreas Vazaios | 100 butterfly |
| Simonas Bilis | 50 freestyle | |
| 7/29 | Justin Ress | 50 backstroke |
| Anton Ipsen | 1500 freestyle (heat) | |
| 7/30 | Anton Ipsen | 1500 freestyle (final) |
| Lotta Nevalainen | 400 medley relay | |
| Simonas Bilis | 400 medley relay |
More information on the World Championships can be found here, while highlights and video recaps be found here.
Stay up to date with the latest on NC State swimming and diving:
Twitter: @packswimdive
Facebook: NC State Swimming and Diving
Instagram: @packswimdive
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