Wolfpack Women Claim Win Over Arizona State in Season Opener

Friday, October 20

Tempe, AZ

5 p.m.

NC State

Arizona State

Wolfpack Women Claim Win Over Arizona State in Season Opener

10/20/2023 8:19:00 PM | Swimming

TEMPE, Ariz. – NC State swimming and diving kicked off its 2023-24 slate with a pair of ranked matchups against Arizona State, with the Wolfpack women coming away from the road meet with a head-to-head victory over the Sun Devils.

The fourth-ranked Wolfpack women beat Arizona State by a 169.5 to 130.5 score, highlighted by three event wins apiece from senior leaders Katharine Berkoff and Abby Arens. The team claimed the top finish in 11 of 16 events contested in Friday night's meet.

Facing off against the top team in the nation on their side, the Pack men fell 186.5 to 113.5 to the Sun Devils. Ross Dant and Kacper Stokowski claimed individual wins in the pool, and Renato Calderaro won both diving events to pace the team.

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS:
Berkoff and Stokowski both picked up NCAA A cuts in the 100-yard backstroke to kick off their seasons. Berkoff went 50.83 for the win on her side, and Stokowski followed suit with a 44.48 on the men's side.

Berkoff's win was the first of three on the night as she also took top honors in the 50-yard freestyle (22.34) and the 100-yard freestyle (48.24) which she swam back to back.

Arens' three victories came in the 100 (50.83) and 200-yard (2:08.94) breaststroke events, and she rounded out her night with first place in the 100-yard butterfly (51.91).

Meghan Donald (200-yard backstroke) and Grace Sheble (200-yard individual medley) also claimed wins for the Wolfpack women.

NC State continued its distance dominance with a podium sweep in the men's 1,000-yard freestyle. In addition to Dant's top time (8:51.33), Lance Norris (8:56.43) and Owen Lloyd (8:58.59) joined him in the top three.

DIVING:
NC State took first place in all four diving events across the men's and women's squads. Helene Synnott (one-meter, 299.85) and Bayleigh Cranford (three-meter, 326.23) splitted winning duty for the Wolfpack women, and Calderaro claimed the victory in both events with a score of 343.05 on one-meter and 383.70 on three-meter. All of those marks were good for Zones cuts to kick off the season for the Pack divers.

RELAY HIGHLIGHTS:
The Wolfpack women kicked off the night with the team's only relay win, a 1:37.07 performance in the 200-yard medley relay put together by Berkoff, Arens, Miriam Sheehan and Casaundra Moses. NC State's top relay teams finished second the rest of the way.

UP NEXT:
NC State and Arizona State do a long course exhibition on Saturday before the team heads back to Raleigh to prepare for its home opener. The Wolfpack will host Georgia and Duke for a tri meet on Friday, Nov. 3 at the Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center.

WOMEN'S TOP FINISHERS: