NC State
Women's ACC Championships/Men's Diving
400 Free Relay Captures Second-Straight Event Title, NC State Takes Runner-Up Spot At ACCs
2/20/2016 9:54:00 PM | Swimming
This marks the highest team finish since 1982
Highlights
GREENSBORO, N.C.- The 10th-ranked NC State women's swimming and diving team capped off a dominant showing at the 2016 ACC Championships Saturday night with a 400 freestyle relay event title and a second-place finish in the team standings.
The team finish marks the highest placement for the program at the conference championship since 1982 under Bob Weincken.
Virginia captured the championship title with 1,332.5 points, while the Wolfpack racked up 1,178 points and UNC-Chapel Hill rounded out the top three with a total of 1,080.
Over four days of competition and 21 events contested, NC State's women broke 17 school records, landed on the podium in 15 events and had nine competitors receive All-ACC honors for their efforts.
Heck yeah 2nd place! Highest finish since 1982! #gopack #STATEment pic.twitter.com/BXdoWOF3BR
— NC State Swim / Dive (@packswimdive) February 21, 2016
Holloway's Statement
Wolfpack Relays
The 400 freestyle relay of Alexia Zevnik, Riki Bonnema, Courtney Caldwell and Natalie Labonge coasted its way to a school, conference and ACC meet record time of 3:11.90 to capture the program's second-straight event title.
The time also stands as an NCAA qualifying mark, while Zevnik broke the 100 free school record with her leadoff split of 47.95. Additionally, Caldwell picked up the first All-ACC mention of her career.
School, conference and ACC meet record!! 2nd-straight title!! #STATEment pic.twitter.com/QY19DLC95l
— NC State Swim / Dive (@packswimdive) February 21, 2016
Butterfly
The Wolfpack had all four of its 200 butterfly competitors advance to the evening session. Lydia Jones finished seventh in the event with a time of 1:59.34, but broke her school record in the morning after tabbing a mark of 1:57.64.
In the C final of the event Yuri Nakano and Morgan Carr notched career-best performances, as Nakano swam a time of 1:58.94 to post the No. 2 time in the record book and Carr touched the wall at 2:00.14 to earn the No. 6 time in program history.
Freestyle
Hannah Moore and Rachel Muller earned second and third-place finishes in the 1,650 free, in respective order. Moore posted a school record pace of 15:50.46 to tab an NCAA 'A' cut, beating the previously set time by nearly 26 seconds. Muller touched the wall at 16:02.15 to post a career-best mark and All-ACC honors.
In the 1,650 free prelims, Shelly Craddock highlighted the event as she finished eighth in the overall standings with a time of 16:20.96. Her performance stands as the third-fastest time in program history.
NC State had all five of its 100 free competitors return to the finals session of the event. Bonnema was the top finisher of the event as the stopped the clock at 48.50 to place third, while Labonge finished fourth .01 seconds behind her teammate to tab the No. 3 time in the record book.
Courtney Caldwell highlighted the 100 free 'B' final, as she notched a career-best performance with a time of 48.95. Her swim stands as the No. 4 time in program history.
Breaststroke
Kayla Brumbaum earned a fourth-place finish in the overall standings of the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:10.29. In the morning session, she managed to break her school record as she touched the wall at 2:09.69.
Backstroke
Zevnik earned her third runner-up finish of the meet, as she posted a time of 1:51.26 in the 200 backstroke to beat her school record and tab an NCAA 'A' cut.
Springboard Action
On platform, senior Rachel Mumma finished ninth with a score of 244.45, while junior Gabi McDermott posted a lifetime-best mark of 203.30 to finish 22nd in the standings. Both divers managed to contribute valuable points towards the team's total.
Radman's Recap
"Overall it was a good day. Gabi walked away with a lifetime best on platform, marking two for her this week as she had one on three-meter as well. She did a big dive for the first time in competition and did very well, but more importantly she scored points today for the team," said head diving coach Yahya Radman. "We couldn't be happier for her, she has come a long way in the past year and has improved a tremendous amount.
"For Rachel, she did the best she could but ended up on the wrong side again finishing ninth. Today served as an opportunity to see where she is on the apparatus though to help us gear up for Zones and NCAAs."
Up Next
The Wolfpack women will return to Raleigh to prepare for the NCAA Championships in March, while the men will take its trip to Greensboro, N.C., Feb. 24-27 for the 2016 ACC Men's Swimming Championship.
Players Mentioned
