The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/672211
30 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER T he moment was not lost on NC State senior swimmer Simonas Bilis while he prepared to climb his 6‑6 body onto the starting block for the sec‑ ond of four 100‑yard legs in the 400 free‑ style relay. The race was the final event of the 2016 NCAA Men's Swimming Championships in Atlanta on March 26; the end of a four‑ day meet and also the last swim of Bilis' career at NC State. The chance to make history for the Wolfpack was a far cry from where Bilis stood four years earlier. National Prominence When head coach Braden Holloway ar‑ rived at NC State in time for the 2011‑12 season, the men's and women's swimming and diving teams both had finished eighth in the previous year's ACC Champion‑ ships. After the men improved to fifth place in Holloway's first season, Bilis signed on to join the program. Even Bilis can admit the progress has been more staggering than he imagined. By the time he and his relay teammates — junior Soren Dahl, and sophomores Ryan Held and Andreas Schiellerup — were lin‑ ing up for the final relay, a fourth‑place finish in the NCAA Championships was assured. There was a small chance, via a Florida disqualification in the 400 freestyle relay, that NCSU could even take third. (That, however, did not occur.) The school's previous best‑ever finish in men's swimming history was also fourth, more than 60 years before in 1954‑55. Last year, the men were eighth at nationals, and this year marked the first back‑to‑back top‑10 finishes since 1973‑74. NC State also won its second straight men's ACC title this year. "When I got here we were … not even close to be champions," Bilis acknowl‑ edged. "Now we've won [ACC] twice in a row. "I didn't really imagine we could climb so fast. I was hoping we could get faster and faster, but I did not know we would get as fast as we did." The rise has not gone unnoticed in the college swimming community. Swim‑ Swam.com Co‑Founder and Editor‑in‑ Chief Braden Keith noted that the Wolf‑ pack is "viewed as the hottest team." "They are not quite the best yet, but they are the cool kid on the block," Keith added. "It's a positive thing he's saying," Hollo‑ way responded. "At least we are not known for anything negative. It's nice. At first we were the underdog, and when we per‑ formed well we were still the underdog. "People are now starting to appreciate our program." The breakout for the men came last year with an ACC title and eighth‑place finish at nationals. Bilis said that they felt the pressure to prove that success was not a fluke. They also knew that the teams behind them were going to try to catch up. The women, though, may have given the men a boost heading into nationals in March. Their ninth‑place finish during their NCAA Championships in Atlanta March 16‑19 was an eight‑spot improvement from 2015 and easily met their goal of a top‑12 placement heading into the season. They were also a strong second to Virginia (which finished fifth at nationals) at the ACC Championships. "For the guys, their goal was to get a tro‑ phy; they wanted to be fourth because they knew top four gets a trophy," Holloway said. "They fed off the girls the week before. They thought if they could do it, we could do it, too. "We do everything together and follow their lead." Emerging Power Men's Swimming And Diving Notches A Historic Finish At NCAA Championships