Wolfpack Women Win NC State Invite, Men Take Second in Greensboro

Saturday, November 19

Greensboro, N.C.

9:30 AM Prelims, 5:30 PM Finals

NC State

NC State/GAC Invitational (Day 3)

Wolfpack Women Win NC State Invite, Men Take Second in Greensboro

11/20/2022 7:22:00 PM | Swimming

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Wolfpack men's and women's swimming and diving teams capped off a successful weekend of competition at the Greensboro Aquatic Center Saturday night. The No 4. NC State women finished in first place with 2,189.50 totally points, while the No. 3 Pack men ended the meet in second place (1,829.50 points).

The Wolfpack women finished ahead of Stanford (1,897 points), Arizona State (1,180 points), Penn State (1,158 points), Duke (1,156 points), Army (332.50 points), George Washington (205 points), and UNC-Asheville (47 points) with their first place finish.

On the men's side, the Pack fell to Arizona State's 2,392.50 points. Stanford finished third (1,642) with Penn State (918), Duke (641.50), Army (489.50) and George Washington (68) rounding out the field.

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS:

1650-yard freestyle
Brooke Travis led the way for the Pack with her second place finish in the mile (16:18.38). Yara Hierath (16:20.40) and Emma Hastings (16:24.22) finished right behind Travis in third and fourth, all three earning the NCAA B standard time.

A new meet record was set as Ross Dant went 14:44.87 to claim first place ahead of teammate Will Gallant who finished second (14:51.52) in the final heat. The Wolfpack distance group's domination continued with James Plage finishing in fourth (14:55.45). With the NCAA B standard being 15:26.19, the Pack finished well under the cut.

200-yard backstroke
Graduate student Emma Muzzy completed her last individual event of the weekend with her 1:52.22 second 200-yard backstroke good for third place. Putting her name down as the seventh fastest time in program history, Kennedy Noble was close behind Muzzy in the A final finishing fourth (1:52.58) with Katey Lewicki going 1:56.05 for seventh.

On the men's side, freshmen JT Ewing and Kyle Ponsler represented the Pack in the A final. Ewing finished fourth (1:42.63) and Ponsler finished sixth (1:44.19) to earn points for the men's squad.

100-yard freestyle
Katharine Berkoff clocked in a time of 47.96 in the 100-yard freestyle, taking second in the event overall and coming in just off of the NCAA automatic qualification time. Kylee Alons and Abbey Webb joined her in the A final with their swims putting them in fifth (48.74) and sixth (48.83). Annabel Crush also met the NCAA B cut from the B final going 49.07 for tenth overall. Bartosz Piszczorowicz, Michael Cotter, Giovanni Izzo, David Curtiss, and Quintin McCarty all posted times below the NCAA B cut standard for the event on the men's side.

200-yard breaststroke
The NC State women saw three women in the A final of the event with Andrea Podmanikova dropping three seconds from her morning swim to take second overall (2:06.77). Heather MacCausland swam a 2:10.17 second race to take fourth, with freshman Aubree Brouwer taking seventh (2:13.15). For the men, Arsenio Bustos brought home ninth place with a NCAA B cut time of 1:56.51.

200-yard butterfly
Just off of the program record she sent in the event last season, Abby Arens' third place finish in the event (1:54.83) stands almost five seconds under the NCAA B cut. Grace Sheble and Caroline Sheble's times in the event are both under the B cut, as well.

Noah Bowers, Aiden Hayes, and Luke Miller finished the weekend of individual events for the Pack with their fourth (1:42.73), fifth (1:42.82), and seventh (1:44.97) place finishes all marking below the B standard for the National Championship meet.

400-yard freestyle relay
The relay squad of Abbey Webb, Katharine Berkoff, Kylee Alons, and Abby Arens gave the Pack yet another automatic NCAA qualification with their time of 3:12.47 seconds and second place finish.

Bartosz Piszczorowicz, Giovanni Izzo, Luke Miller, and Hunter Tapp posted an automatic NCAA qualification time in the event for the second place finish (2:49.32).

DIVING HIGHLIGHTS:

On the platform, Helene Synnott was the only diver in the field to obtain a qualification to NCAA Zones in the event with her first place finishing score of 231.40 points. Six NC State women finished in the top nine with Ashton Zuburg, Clara Tate, Red Watt, Mary O'Neill, and Celia Bidwell rounding out the final.

UP NEXT:

Eight members of NC State's squad will head to the Fina World Championships in Abu Dhabi, from Dec. 16-21. Select Wolfpack divers will then compete at the USA Diving Winter Nationals Dec. 13-18 to wrap up the team's competition slate for the 2021 calendar year.

WOMEN'S TOP FINISHERS:

1,650 freestyle: Travis (second - 16:18.38)
200 backstroke: Muzzy (third - 1:52.22)
100 freestyle: Berkoff (second - 47.96)
200 breaststroke: Podmanikova (second - 2:06.77)
200 butterfly: Arens (third - 1:54.83)
Platform: Synnott (first - 231.40)
400 freestyle relay: Webb, Berkoff, Alons, Arens (second - 3:12.47)

MEN'S TOP FINISHERS:

1,650 freestyle: Dant (first - 14:44.87)
200 backstroke: Ewing (fourth - 1:42.63)
100 freestyle: Piszczorowicz (seventh - 42.94)
200 breaststroke: Bustos (ninth - 1:56.51)
200 butterfly: Bowers (fourth - 1:42.73)
Platform: O'Brien (fourth - 262.75)
400 freestyle relay: Piszczorowicz, Izzo, Miller, Tapp (second - 2:49.32)

UP NEXT:
Around twenty members of NC State's squad will head to the Toyota U.S. Open in Greensboro, held Nov. 30-Dec. 3, before several other members of the Pack head to Melbourne, Australia for the Fina Short Course World Championships Dec. 13-18.

#GoPack | @packswimdive