Senior Night was a breeze for No. 6/7 NC State swimming and diving, because it cruised to a regular-season-closing sweep of UNCW.
The No. 6 Wolfpack girls earned a 186-91 victory over the Seahawks, whereas the No. 7 males secured a 162-107 win. Both squads gained first place in each occasion, together with 11 senior victories.
“Today was about just trying to have fun with our senior class,” stated head coach Braden Holloway. “Really embracing our senior class, making sure they’re having a good time in their last time doing this in this pool. So it was a good day.”
Reigning ACC Diver of the Week Gracie Hurley earned victories on each the 1-meter and 3-meter boards, persevering with a dominant stretch in her junior season.
Senior Katherine Helms pocketed a personal-best 200-meter freestyle time at 1:45.23, claiming the eighth-best efficiency in program historical past. Four different swimmers joined her with top-10 performances, together with 10-time All-American senior Kennedy Noble with the No. 8 spot within the 100-meter butterfly at 52.27 seconds.
Helms and Noble had been two of 18 seniors celebrated on Friday night time, as various seniors competed in occasions for the primary time of their collegiate careers. After the meet, the seniors gave speeches in entrance of the staff and households in attendance, exhibiting their appreciation for the college after their closing dwelling contest.
“It really means everything,” stated senior Stephen Conrad. “It’s a culmination of all the hard work that the seniors have put in. And then also the underclassmen, the freshmen, juniors and sophomores have helped us get to this point because just the senior class can’t get here on our own.”
Holloway had an identical sentiment when requested about what the night time meant.
“Emotional,” Holloway stated. “We always joke as the staff that we love this meet because it’s our senior meet, but we hate it because we have to control our emotions because it’s for them and we’re not going to have them anymore.”
With such a powerful class leaving, uncertainty all the time looms massive, however Conrad believes the returners are as much as the problem.
“I think we leave a big legacy,” Conrad stated. “I think we’re going to leave a big hole in the team. But I think. I think the guys are ready. There are a lot of guys that are ready to step up, and I think I’m excited to see that next year for them.”
In the meantime, with the common season within the rearview, the staff now strikes on to the ACC Championships in Atlanta, Georgia, between Feb. 15-21. When requested concerning the staff’s objectives for the convention and nationwide championships, Conrad declared a transparent one.
“Win. That’s it.”