North Carolina State University Athletics
Pack Swimmers Bring Home Hardware at Fort Lauderdale Open
5/3/2026 5:09:00 PM | Swimming
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - The Wolfpack sent five swimmers to the sunshine State for the four-day Fort Lauderdale Open, marking the team's first major USA Swimming competition of the summer. The meet took place April 29-May 3.
Representing NC State were Eneli Jefimova, Lily King, Erika Pelaez, Jerry Fox and Pack pro Katharine Berkoff.
Coming off her NCAA Championship success in March, rising sophomore Eneli Jefimova wasted no time making an impact in her Fort Lauderdale Open debut. Jefimova earned both gold and bronze medals over the weekend, highlighted by a first-place finish in the 50-meter breaststroke with a time of 30.73.
Jefimova also claimed bronze in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:07.42). Earlier in the event, she posted a qualifying time of 1:07.37, the second-fastest long course 100 breaststroke swim in program history. She also added a fifth-place finish in the 200-meter breaststroke, narrowly missing the podium.
Pack pro Katharine Berkoff also turned in a strong performance, earning silver in the 50-meter backstroke (27.74) and bronze in the 100-meter backstroke (58.86).
Jerry Fox advanced to finals in two sprint freestyle events after a series of strong swims throughout the week. He placed ninth in the 50-meter freestyle (22.75) and eighth in the 100-meter freestyle (49.64).
Erika Pelaez delivered an impressive weekend of her own, qualifying for finals in five events while recording personal bests in both the 100 freestyle and 200 backstroke. Pelaez finished sixth in the 100-meter freestyle (54.51), fifth in the 50-meter backstroke (28.74), fourth in the 100-meter backstroke (59.78), fifth in the 200-meter backstroke (2:10.54) and seventh in the 100-meter butterfly (59.72).
Rising sophomore Lily King also put together a strong showing in Fort Lauderdale, qualifying for finals in three freestyle events. King competed in the 50-meter freestyle (25.10), 100-meter freestyle (55.28) and posted a personal-best time of 2:00.96 in the 200-meter freestyle.
Medal Tally:Â
GOLD: Eneli Jefimova | 50 breaststroke LCM | 30.73
SILVER: Katharine Berkoff | 50 backstroke LCM | 27.74
BRONZE: Eneli Jefimova | 100 breaststroke LCM | 1:07.42
BRONZE: Katharine Berkoff | 100 backstroke LCM | 58.86
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