Being undefeated is overrated.
Bringing the five-year reigning national champions into Casey Aquatic Center, No. 7 NC State women’s swimming faced off against No. 1 Virginia — undoubtedly the toughest test of the season for the previously undefeated red-and-white squad. Virginia was dominant, showing why it’s been so successful in recent years, defeating the Wolfpack 181-113. But throughout the meet, NC State proved it could hang with the best of ‘em, and why you schedule tough opponents.
“It’s always a good battle, especially with our women’s team back where they’ve been the last five years,” said head coach Braden Holloway. “It needed to be a great challenge for our women and with our guys. We always compete well with UVA. It’s always good battles in the pool.”
Some of NC State’s best even defeated the nation’s best. Sophomore Leah Shackley led the Pack with two first-place finishes, first in the 100 backstroke with a time of 50.56 and then the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:49.95. Freshman Eneli Jefimova claimed a first-place finish of her own, securing the win in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 58.10.
Senior Katherine Helms, a steady senior who has had her fair share of first place finishes throughout the season, is embracing her final year as an opportunity to show what she’s got.
“I would say the Wolfpack women have the underdog mentality,” Helms said. “We’re always gonna show up and give it our all … I have a lot of pride. My four years here have been honestly up and down. But I’m going out with a bang this year and I’m really excited to see what the championship season holds.”
On the men’s side, the No. 6 Wolfpack was as dominant as ever. Taking down the Cavaliers 172.5-89.5, the Pack showcased why it is the No. 2 ranked team in the ACC, only behind California.
Headlining the timesheet was freshman Max Carlsen, who has been on a tear as of late. Versus North Carolina, he set a school record with a time of 8:42.38 in the 1000 freestyle. In his home pool versus the Cavaliers, he one-upped himself, snapping the ACC record with a time of 8:41.12. Carlsen also secured first place in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:11.89.
Other first-place finishers on the men’s side included junior Hudson Williams in the 100 backstroke with a time of 45.79, sophomore Arsen Kozhakhmetov in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 53.38, freshman Ian Stutts in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 1:57.18 and sophomore Kaii Winkler in the 100 freestyle.
Rounding out that list was redshirt junior Quintin McCarty, who secured first place in the 50 freestyle with a time of 19.35. As a leader of this team, he is excited to find out how far it goes down the final stretch, facing fatigue but also opportunity.
“It’s the middle of the season, you’re kind of just always tired but at the same time you’re always going for the best that you can,” McCarty said. “Really excited just moving forward. We have a great team, a lot of guys on this team that can do some special things and it’s really fun to kind of work with them every day and just really grind with them and move forward especially with so much talent and see what we can do at ACCs and NCAAs.”
With just a few events left this season, the Pack hosts UNC-Wilmington Friday, Jan. 30. The ACC and NCAA championships will take place Feb. 18-21 and Mar. 18-28, respectively.
