Women Swim/Dive Finishes As National Runner-Up at NCAAs
The women of NC State swimming and diving secured the best NCAA Championships finish in program history, as the team placed as the runner-up at the 2021 national meet.
Texas owned the 2.5-point lead through all the individual events, but NC State reclaimed its second-place spot with the final relay of the meet. The Pack finished with 354 points behind Virginia's 491. The two ACC squads secured the highest NCAA finishes in league history.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HONORS:
Including its five national titles, the Pack garnered 20 individual All-America citations, and four NC State relay squads were cited with All-America honors at the 2021 NCAA Championships.
National Titles
400 medley relay: Berkoff, Hansson, Alons, Poole (3:24.59 – NCAA record, US Open record)
100 breaststroke: Sophie Hansson (57.23)
100 backstroke: Katharine Berkoff (49.74, ACC record)
200 medley relay: Berkoff, Hansson, Rowe, Alons (1:33.18)
200 breaststroke: Sophie Hansson (2:03.86)
All-American
200 freestyle relay: Berkoff, Alons, Rowe, Hansson (1:26.27 – third place)
500 freestyle: Kate Moore (4:39.71 – sixth place)
200 IM: Julia Poole (1:55.60 – sixth place)
50 freestyle: Kylee Alons (21.51 – fourth place), Katharine Berkoff (21.96 – eighth place)
100 butterfly: Kylee Alons (50.35 – third place)
100 breaststroke: Andrea Podmanikova (58.62 – seventh place)
200 backstroke: Katharine Berkoff (1:50.88 – sixth place), Emma Muzzy (1:51.70 – seventh place)
100 freestyle: Kylee Alons (47.71 – sixth place)
200 breaststroke: Andrea Podmanikova (2:05.51 – fourth place)
400 freestyle relay: Berkoff, Alons, Hansson, Poole (3:11.25 – fourth place)
Honorable Mention All-American
400 IM: Kate Moore
100 breaststroke: Olivia Calegan
1650 freestyle: Yara Hierath
200 backstroke: Kate Moore
200 BREASTSTROKE:
Sophie Hansson entered the meet as the favorite to win the 200-yard breaststroke, and she also owned the top time coming out of the morning prelims. She led after 100 yards and then put together an incredible back half that she is known for. Hansson swam her way to the 2:03.36 win, dropping a full second off of her personal best.
The win made her just the second swimmer in NC State men's or women's history to win two individual national titles in one season. The feat had not been accomplished since alumnus Dick Fadgen won the 200 breaststroke and 200 butterfly in 1956.
Andrea Podmanikova also put together an incredible performance in the A final. She moved up three spots from the prelims to place fourth overall, with her 2:05.51 also marking a career best.
Additional prelim results: Julia Poole (17th - 2:08.67), Abby Arens (26th - 2:09.60)
400 FREE RELAY:
With the decision for the second-place team finish coming down to the final relay, NC State stepped up big time and dropped over three seconds from its entry time to beat out Texas by five places.
Katharine Berkoff (47.94), Kylee Alons (47.05), Sophie Hansson (47.80) and Julia Poole (48.46) touched in 3:11.25 out of heat three. Their time would go on to rank fourth at the conclusion of the event, pushing the Pack past the Longhorns in the team score.
200 BACK:
Katharine Berkoff (1:50.88) and Emma Muzzy (1:51.70) led the way in the A finals, checking in at sixth and seventh, respectively. Berkoff's 1:50.18 in the prelims was a personal best.
Kate Moore was the winner out of the consolation final and picked up some key points for the Pack with her ninth-place overall finish. The senior swam the fastest time of her career, a 1:51.61 that bettered her mark that ranks fifth in program history.
Additional prelim results: Danika Huizinga (33rd - 1:55.80), Katey Lewicki (36th - 1:55.95)
100 BUTTERFLY:
Kylee Alons wrapped up her individual slate swimming her third A final in as many days. She set a 100-yard freestyle personal best in the evening session, with her 47.71 checking in at sixth overall.
1650 FREE:
Freshman distance swimmer Yara Hierath impressed in the first NCAA Championships mile swim of her career. Despite coming out of one of the earlier afternoon heats, Hierath earned a 16th-place finish with her mark of 16:13.59 to gain honorable mention All-America status.
