Expectations are through the roof for the NC State swimming and diving team heading into a fresh season, but that is the new normal for a program that has quickly become a national powerhouse.
Both the men’s and the women’s teams are coming off historic seasons, as the 2016-17 campaign was the best the program has ever seen.
The men’s team won its third-straight ACC title, the first time it has accomplished that since the team won 12 in a row from 1971-82. The men also picked up their second straight fourth-place finish at NCAAs, tying the best mark in program history. Additionally, State’s men won an NCAA Championship in an individual event, breaking the NCAA record to capture gold in the 800-yard freestyle relay.
The women picked up their first ACC title since 1980, and a seventh-place finish at NCAAs was its highest ever and second straight season in the top 10.
There is no reason to expect anything different from the Pack this coming season, with NC State possibly even poised to get better. The men’s team is completely capable of winning the NCAA Championship, having lost very few key members of a squad that came close last year.
The losses for the Pack men are short, with only four major departures in graduates Andreas Schiellerup, Derek Hren, Soren Dahl and Adam Linker. Hren was the Pack’s primary breastroke swimmer, and Dahl was a part of the 800-yard free relay team.
While these four were major role players of the Wolfpack men’s team, State returns the bulk of its top swimmers, featuring an extremely talented lineup including seniors Ryan Held, Anton Ipsen and Hennessey Stuart, along with juniors Justin Ress and Andreas Vazaios and sophomore Coleman Stewart.
Together, that group of six returners holds the NC State record in 10 of the 13 individual events, and Held, Vazaios and Ress were all on the 800-yard free relay last year that broke the NCAA record.
Held, a 2016 Olympic gold medalist, is the best the Pack has to offer, and is undoubtedly one of the top swimmers in the nation. He had a top-five time nationally in the 50 and 100-yard freestyles, along with the 100-yard butterfly, last season. Only Florida’s Caeleb Dressel, an Olympian himself, returns to NCAA competition this year having posted better times in the 50 and 100-yard free than Held.
Vazaios, Ress, Stuart and Stewart bring the power for the State backstroke, with Vazaios also excelling in 200-yard individual medley and 200-yard butterfly. Ress is right behind Held in freestyle sprints, while Ipsen is among the strongest in the nation in the two long-distance freestyle events.
Another area of strength for the Wolfpack men is relays, as the team won three golds in relays at ACCs last year. This success should continue in 2017-18, with Held, Ress and Vazaios being mainstays in last season’s relay teams.
The one weakness for the Pack men in the pool is the breaststroke, and this is where Hren will be missed. Breast was the biggest hole in State’s team last season, and the loss of Hren will only make it more difficult to fill.
However, this shouldn’t hold the Pack men’s swimming team from making a run at its first-ever NCAA title, and the first team title for any NC State sport since men’s basketball in 1983.
On the women’s side of things, there are many more question marks. The Pack will be without graduate Alexia Zevnik, who is perhaps the greatest swimmer the program has ever seen. In addition to Zevnik, breaststroke specialist Kayla Brumbaum and long-distance freestyler Rachel Muller graduated.
While these losses will be tough to cope with, there are plenty of phenomenal returners for the Pack. Senior Hannah Moore shined in both the 500 and 1,650-yard freestyle last season, finishing the year with top-10 national times in both.
Sophomore Ky-Lee Perry is also a key returner. She broke onto the scene last year as a strong sprint freestyle swimmer for the Pack, and set the school record in the 50-yard free in her freshman season. Another strong freestyle swimmer for State is junior Courtney Caldwell, who has the second-fastest time in school history in the 100-yard free.
Like the men, the women also excel in relays, having won gold in four of the five relay events at ACCs last year. However, new pieces will need to be found for the team events this season, as Brumbaum and Zevnik were consistently featured in relays.
The women have big gaps to fill, but has the depth to do so. The Pack should compete for another ACC title and another top-10 national finish.
The diving team is a long way behind swimming at State, but making strides in the right direction. Sophomore James Brady became the first Wolfpack diver to compete at NCAAs since 1996 last season, and should have another strong campaign.
The team will kick off its season Friday with a home meet against Penn State and Duke at Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center.
