This past week in Atlanta, Georgia, the NC State Women’s Swimming and Diving team made history by finishing ninth at the Women’s Swimming & Diving NCAA Championships — the second-highest finish in program history. The Wolfpack broke six school records and nabbed 30 All-America Honors at the NCAAs as well.
NC State has not broken into the top-10 of the team standings at the national championship since 1982 under Bob Weincken.
On Day One of the competition, the Pack competed in the 800-yard freestyle relay, with a team consisting of junior Rachel Muller, junior Alexia Zevnik, senior Shelly Craddock and junior Natalie Labonge. They placed 12th with a time of 7 minutes, 3.01 seconds, which is the highest place NC State has finished in the 800-yard freestyle relay in the past 20 years.
This score put NC State in 12th place overall in the competition going into the next day.
On Day Two of the competition, the Wolfpack shined. In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the team consisting of senior Riki Bonnema, senior Ashlyn Koletic, Labonge and sophomore Krista Duffield took seventh place with a time of 1:28.04. The finish put the Pack overall in the top eight and earned them first team All-America Honors.
In the 500-yard freestyle, sophomore Hannah Moore took home sixth place with a time of 4:38.12, which earned the swimmer her first All-America honors. In the same event, Muller earned 11th place and an honorable mention All-America honors with a time of 4:39.79.
In the one-meter dive, senior Rachel Mumma tied for 26th place with a score of 272.50.
To finish off the day, the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Zevnik, junior Kayla Brumbaum, Labonge and freshman Courtney Caldwell took home 11th place and broke the school record with a time of 3:30.52. Zevnik’s 100-yard backstroke leadoff split time also marked a school record, as she touched the wall at 51.14.
“I’m really proud of the 400 relay team,” said head coach Braden Holloway. “They came in, they raced well and they broke their school record. In that relay, all four girls stepped up and did a great job.”
NC State ended day two in ninth place overall.
On Day Three of the competition, the 200-yard medley relay team of Koletic, Brumbaum, Labonge and Bonnema earned 11th place and an honorable mention All-America honors with a time of 1:36.92.
Hannah Moore got her second All-America mention in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:08.78 to get 16th place and an honorable mention All-America honors. In the 100-yard butterfly, Labonge finished 16th place overall with a time of 52.81, earning the swimmer her fifth All-America mention in the competition.
In the 200-yard free, Muller got her third All-America mention with a time of 1:45.34 to earn her 15th place and an honorable mention All-America.
Zevnik earned her third national award of the championship when she took sixth place in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 51.31 to get a first team All-America honors and break her school record. The team ended the day in 11th place overall going into the last day of competition.
“[Zevnik] put together a great race, to get back and put herself in a position to get on the podium and break her own school record,” Holloway said. “She put her heart and soul into this to get her goal for the year.”
On the final day of competition, the 400-yard freestyle team of Zevnik, Bonnema, Duffield and Caldwell took home fifth place with a time of 3:12.61.
Moore collected the third All-America honor of her career with the Wolfpack. In the 1,650-yard freestyle, Moore broke her school record with a time of 15:47.20 to finish fourth in the overall standings and get a first team All-America honors. Muller earned 12th and an honorable mention All-America honors with a time of 16:04.95.
In the 200-yard backstroke, Zevnik earned her second top-eight finish of her career at NCAAs this week when she took seventh place with a time of 1:51.06 and earned a first team All-America honors.
Mumma completed her showing at the championship for the Pack as she finished 35th with a score of 207.75 on platform.
The Wolfpack women will return to Raleigh as select swimmers will begin preparation for their respective Olympic Trials, which will be held in April for some members.
The NC State men will take their turn in Atlanta next week for the NCAA Championships, hosted by Georgia Tech inside the McAuley Aquatic Center March 23–26.
