After a 10th-place finish at the ACC Championships last year, the women’s swimming and diving team is looking to turn things around starting Wednesday in Atlanta.

“This team is without a doubt 10 times better than what we had last year,” junior Erica Smith said. “Since we have a very fast conference, our goal is around sixth place out of the 11 teams competing.”

One of the team’s more pressing goals, however, is to finish ahead of in-state rival Duke.

“UVa and Carolina have been really good this year, but we’re really out to beat Duke,” junior Kathryn Pegg said. “That’s the team that we’ve had a huge rivalry with. Usually we’re within a few points of each other every year.”

The two teams have traded victories this season. After posting a 156-141 loss in October, the Wolfpack rallied to defeat Duke at the Georgia Tech Invitational. In the event in Atlanta on Nov. 16 through Nov. 18, StateÕs women posted a 445-422.5 advantage against the Blue Devils.

“We want to beat Duke so bad,” Smith said. “When they beat us in the dual meet, it was going back and forth. But we just weren’t having our best meet, so they ended up winning. When we beat them, it wasn’t even close. We’re just a better team than they are, and we have to prove that at the ACC meet.”

Coach Brooks Teal said Duke does bring talent to the table, but said the Pack can pull past the Devils for the victory.

“Duke is a very disciplined team that always brings a lot of spirit,” Teal said. “We’re just going to have to rise to the occasion and match their intensity.”

In terms of success this season, the team has performed consistently well in the 200-yard backstroke, the 400-yard individual medley and the 200-yard individual medley.

“We’re really strong in certain areas,” Pegg said. “But if we want to be successful, we’ve got to have a lot of girls step up in our weaker events, such as the 200 fly and some of the distance events. So far, our girls have done a great job of stepping up this year.”

The four-day meet, concluding on Saturday, will give many of the women another chance to break school records, which some swimmers are within one-tenth of a second of setting.

“Our goals for the ACC Championships are fast swimming and having fun,” Teal said. “If we do those, I think it is going to translate to some fast times across the boards. It’s going to be a total team effort.”

Women’s Swimming ACC Championships finishes1998 fifth1999 fifth2000 sixth2001 sixth2002 sixth2003 seventh2004 eighth2005 eighth2006 eighth2007 10thSource: N.C. State Athletics