The swim & dive regular season has officially come to an end, and now NC State’s nationally ranked teams look toward ACCs and NCAAs for a chance to pick up some hardware. Here’s a breakdown after four months of dual meets and competitive swims.
Women wrap up difficult slate of regular-season meets
Sure, the No. 4 women lost twice this year — an irregular occurrence as of late, thanks to Braden Holloway’s ferocious tenure as head coach — but after looking at the schedule, can you blame them? There wasn’t much the Wolfpack women could do against the best two women’s programs in the country, and it’s impressive enough that they pulled off a victory against No. 3 Stanford.
It’s unlikely that they’ll bring home their first conference title since 2019 in February — Virginia is just that good — but don’t count the women out of a strong showing at NCAAs. Given their incredible depth and tendency to pull off an important swim where it counts, I can see a third-place finish in NC State’s future. Since the women’s team is losing a talented slate of athletes this May, now’s the time for the Wolfpack to send off its seniors with an incredible championship season.
Who’s bringing home a conference championship?
Like I said, it won’t be the women. Virginia’s on track to pick up its 19th ACC title, and there’s little Holloway and the rest of the team can do to stop the likes of Olympians Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass from racking up meet-winning points for the Cavaliers.
However, it’s almost certain that the No. 4 men will see a second-straight conference title in their future. The next ACC team in the rankings is No. 13 Virginia Tech, and 2022 runner-up Louisville sits at No. 18. Given that the men have sat atop the rankings for the entirety of the regular season and that they currently hold six of the top times in the ACC so far this season, we’re more than likely going to watch the Wolfpack nab its 32nd conference title.
Way too early: national championship picks
Since senior Kacper Stokowski currently holds the top time in the nation this season in the 100-yard backstroke, I’m expecting a repeat championship from one of NC State’s best and brightest. Senior Katharine Berkoff has a good shot at doing the same, although she’ll face tough competition from a number of phenomenal backstrokers at NCAAs. Granted, none of them have come close to touching her American record in the event at 58.74, but expect the women’s 100-yard backstroke to be the one to watch at this year’s national championships.
My sleeper pick for an individual national title is sophomore David Curtiss, who’s 18.95 in the 50-yard freestyle currently sits at seventh in the country. One year after winning the ACC title but missing A-finals at NCAAs, Curtiss is in an extremely good position to pull off a top-three finish. He’s been working hard, and dipping under 19 seconds during the regular season is no small feat — in fact, he’s only 0.12 behind the second-best performance in the country this season.
Some NCAA hardware in the men’s future
The age-old question remains: will the men be able to pull off a top-three finish at NCAAs this year? The highest they’ve ever finished is fourth place, and they’ve done so six times. They certainly have the depth to perform with the talent of a top-three squad but have been shut out of the podium for years by the likes of California and Texas — the latter of which being their only dual meet loss of the season. No. 1 Arizona State also poses a sizable threat this season, and it’s likely that the Sun Devils will take the national championship in March.
That being said, I think the men have it in them to beat the odds and finally nab bronze. They certainly have individual national titles in their future — Stokowski at the very least, and Curtiss or even junior Luke Miller in the 200-yard freestyle if we’re lucky — and thanks to Holloway’s elite recruiting tactics, the depth is there. It’ll just come down to A-final performances and a wealth of points from the consolation finalists.
