ACC Weekly Recap: Duke Sweeps North Carolina For Third Straight Year; NC State Men Take Down Texas

Photo Courtesy: Nat LeDonne/Duke Athletics

The final weekend of regular season action from the Atlantic Coast Conference was a big one as one of the nation’s best rivalries, Duke-North Carolina, came down to the last few events as the Blue Devils swept the Tar Heels for the third straight year.

The NC State men also picked up a big win over the four-time reigning national champions Texas in Austin as the Wolfpack also swept Arizona in the tri-meet. The NC State women lost to Texas.

Louisville also was swept by the Indiana Hoosiers of the Big Ten in a non-conference matchup.

Duke vs. North Carolina

Women: Duke, 165.5; UNC, 134.5
Men: Duke, 155; UNC, 145
Results

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – In a back and forth battle that came down to the final relays, the Duke men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams came away with a pair of victories over North Carolina to cap the regular season in style Saturday at Koury Natatorium.

With both the men’s and women’s team scores tight at the final diving break, the Blue Devils received a boost from the boards and closed strong over the last few swimming events to defeat their Tobacco Road rivals for a third straight season. The 21st-ranked Duke women came away with a 165.5-134.5 victory while the Blue Devil men prevailed over the Tar Heels by a 155-145 score.

“To come here two years ago and win for the first time was huge,” said Duke head coach Dan Colella. “We know how big a rivalry this is, and to now be in a position where we’re winning is enormous. For the last meet of the season, it’s a tremendous boost for the team. The performances today were just outstanding across the board. We told them it was going to take an absolute team effort, that every single point mattered and there’s no question that, swimming and diving, everybody stood up and did what they needed to do. Hats off to the UNC crew. They swam really tough today and it was a battle down to the last relay.”

Duke senior Evan Moretti and junior Nathaniel Hernandez finished one-two in both of the men’s springboard diving events and sophomore Spencer LaFata turned in a pair of exhilarating performances in the men’s 500 and 1,000-freestyle races, while senior Maddie Hess and freshman Cabell Ann Whitlow were both double event winners for the women’s squad. Duke claimed three of the four relay events on the day, including the crucial 400 freestyle relay races to close out the meet.

The women’s 200-yard medley relay of Hess, sophomore Halle Morris, junior Alyssa Marsh and senior Hunter Aitchison dropped a season-best time of 1:38.63 to kick off the afternoon with a victory. LaFata then touched first in a thrilling men’s 1,000 freestyle race, turning in the fourth-fastest mark in program history at 9:16.84.

The top two spots in the women’s and men’s 200 freestyle went to Blue Devils as freshmen Melissa Pish (1:46.89) and Easop Lee (1:48.21) went one-two for the women and juniors Miles Williams (1:37.97) and Sheldon Boboff (1:38.53) did the same for the men. Hess and Marsh added first-place finishes in the women’s 100 backstroke (53.51) and 50 freestyle (22.45), respectively, and Duke also excelled in the women’s and men’s 200 butterfly. Whitlow clocked the second-fastest time in school history (1:56.78) to take first on the women’s side, with junior Kylie Jordan following in second (1:57.67). Another Blue Devil rookie, Matthew Whelan, was first in the men’s race (1:49.74).

Duke kept the momentum rolling after the first swimming break, as Hess (49.83), Pish (50.27) and Aitchison (50.96) swept the top three places in the women’s 100 freestyle and senior Yusuke Legard (44.61) brought home a win in the same event on the men’s side.

In the meantime, the Blue Devil divers bolstered the team scores with strong performances at the other end of the pool. Moretti (371.03) and Hernandez (364.80) placed first and second in the men’s one-meter competition and later repeated that order of finish on the three-meter board. Senior Lizzie Fitzpatrick led the Duke women on the three-meter board in second (308.33) and was third behind a Maddi Pullinger first-place showing at the one-meter height (323.33).

After senior Max St. George recorded a victory in the men’s 200 backstroke (1:47.32), Duke’s distance swimmers made another statement. Lee claimed the women’s 500 freestyle (4:50.07) and LaFata finished strong once again for first in the men’s race (4:33.78).

“In that 500 free, Spencer and Riley [Hickman] and Zach [Washart] – that was one of the events we knew was going to be really, really tight,” Colella said. “We weren’t really sure which was it was going to go. Spencer today just really stood up and did a magnificent job, both in the 1,000 and the 500. He’s just one of many that really shined today.”

Team scores in both meets remained tight through the final break, but the Blue Devils capitalized in the women’s one-meter and men’s three-meter diving competitions, as well as in the 200 individual medley. Whitlow (2:01.24) and Jordan (2:01.71) finished one-two in the women’s race and senior Sean Tate (1:50.70) headlined a two-three-four-five showing by Duke on the men’s side. The top 400 freestyle relays of Pish, Marsh, Aitchison and Hess (3:18.55) and Williams, Legard, Nathaniel Hartley and St. George (2:56.70) secured the dual meet victories.

“We didn’t know exactly what was going to happen today,” Hess said. “We knew it was going to be really close. But we knew with our Duke family coming together, we were capable – just like the past two years. There’s always extra excitement for this meet knowing that they’re our biggest rivals, so it was fun to be a part of that again.”

“We anticipated that it would come down to the last couple events like it has in the past few years and it did,” UNC head coach Rich DeSelm said. “We have to give credit to Duke for putting together a great lineup and a great strategy. There is more of the season left and after today, we have our sights set on the championship season. We have a lot to work for.”

UNC senior co-captain and Chapel Hill, N.C. native Noah Cairns wrapped up his Koury Natatorium career in the most fitting fashion. Cairns won the men’s 200 IM with a season-best time of 1:50.09, swam a career-best 2:02.10 in the men’s 200 breast and finished the men’s 200 fly in a season-best 1:49.98 for the runner-up finish.

“Cairns is a local product and I could not be happier for him,” DeSelm said. “I coached his dad when he was in high school so I have a long history with his family. He fought hard to get to this point. He wanted to step up for his team today and he did in a big way.”

The Tar Heels gave everything they had for their seniors in their final dual meet of the 2018-19 season. Sophomores Alvin Jiang and Valdas Abaliksta each won two individual events and they bookended the men’s 200 medley relay with freshmen Sterling Smith and Tucker Burhans to clock UNC’s best time of the season (1:27.41).

The UNC women’s team even swept three events, including the 100 breast, 200 breast and 1000 free. Freshman Lilly Higgs and sophomores Allie Reiter and Carolina Hauder took the top-three spots in both women’s breaststroke events. Higgs won the 200 breast in 2:16.58 with Reiter (2:17.64) and Hauder (2:19.08) right behind and Hauder took the women’s 100 breast in 1:02.14. Higgs (1:02.57) finished second and Reiter (1:03.17) third.

In the women’s 1000 free, senior Robyn Dryer finished first (9:59.90) in her final dual meet appearance and junior Bryanna Cameron (10:04.41) and Emma Layton (10:06.41) both swam season-best times to secure the sweep.

With Saturday’s results, the Duke women closed the regular season with a 4-1 dual meet ledger and a 2-1 mark against ACC opponents while the Blue Devil men finished up at 3-2 (1-2).

NC State vs. Arizona vs. Texas

Men: NC State, 174; Texas, 126
Men: NC State, 215; Arizona, 83
Women: Texas, 168; NC State, 130
Women: NC State, 213; Arizona, 81
Results

AUSTIN, Texas – The fifth-ranked NC State men’s swimming and diving team picked up wins against a pair of top-15 programs, including the defending national team champion Texas, and the No. 6 Wolfpack women beat Arizona in Friday night’s tri-meet with the Longhorns and the Wildcats.

Competing at the Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin, NC State’s men swept the podium twice as they took down Texas by a 174-126 score and beat No. 15 Arizona 215-83. The Wolfpack women took a 213-81 win over Arizona and fell to the top-ranked Longhorns 168-130.

The Wolfpack opened the tri-meet by taking first in both 200-yard medley relay races. Elise Haan, Sophie Hansson, Sirena Rowe and Ky-lee Perry teamed up for a first-place finish for the women in 1:30.03, and Coleman Stewart, Daniel Graber, Nyls Korstanje and Justin Ress picked up a top finish on the men’s side with a time of 1:26.00.

The Pack’s sprinters picked up the first podium sweep of the evening in the 50-yard freestyle as Jacob Molacek (1st, 19.79), Nyls Korstanje (2nd, 19.93) and Giovanni Izzo (3rd, 20.09) took the top-three spots in the event.

NC State went on to also sweep the podium in the men’s 100-yard freestyle. Justin Ress led the way in 43.54, and Coleman Stewart (43.65) and Jacob Molacek (43.72) rounded out the top three as all of those men posted NCAA B cut times.

Ky-lee Perry also continued to impress on the women’s side of the event, taking first in 21.99. The Wolfpack junior has yet to lose a 50-yard freestyle event in any of the Wolfpack’s dual meets or tri-meets this season.

Kylee Alons bettered her program record in the 200-yard butterfly, which she took ownership of just last weekend. Alons took second place in the event in 1:55.16 to improve her NCAA B cut and the school’s best time. She added a win to her outing in the 200-yard backstroke with an NCAA provisional time of 1:54.31.

Eric Knowles, who is the reigning ACC Men’s Swimmer of the Week after sweeping the distance events during last weekend’s meet, won his second straight 1000-yard freestyle race. The Wolfpack sophomore touched the wall in 9:02.54, just over two seconds off of his personal best that stands at fourth in program history, on the way to taking first place in the event.

Rafal Kusto picked up the first event win of his NC State career after joining the Wolfpack at the start of January. He touched first in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:58.47.

NC State’s men went on to close the meet with a relay win in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Andreas Vazaios, Justin Ress, Jacob Molacek and Coleman Stewart clocked a 2:53.25 for the victory.

Notre Dame vs. Michigan State

Men: Notre Dame, 188; Michigan State, 108
Women: Notre Dame, 196; Michigan State, 101

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The University of Notre Dame swimming and diving program concluded their dual meet season with a sweep at Michigan State, Saturday afternoon. On the day, the Irish tallied 60 top-three finishes and 27 first-place spots, including all four diving events.

“It was a really solid day of swimming and diving for us,” Head Coach Mike Litzinger said. “I am very proud of our group as they showed versatility and depth at both ends of the pool versus Michigan State.”

The women finished their season undefeated, going 10-0-1 while the men defeated the Spartans in their first dual of the new year. Posting seven clean sweeps through 16 events, the women tallied 196 points to beat the Spartans 196-101.

“Our women capped off an undefeated dual meet season, and showed our strength in numbers by dominating the boards and the relays,” he added. “This group is very special and I am looking forward to championship performances by all.”

Notre Dame’s men beat Michigan State 188-108 to improve their 2018-19 season record to 4-4.

“The men came out of the gate taking the first four events and never looked back,” Litzinger went on. “We had a chance to showcase student-athletes in other events, and hone some skills. In particular Matt Grauslys did a fantastic job, taking first in both the 100 and 200 fly.”

Combined, the Notre Dame men’s and women’s swim and dive teams accounted for eight sweeps during the afternoon meet.

Beginning with the women’s 200 medley relay, the Notre Dame A team led with a time of 1:41.77 before the “B” and “C” relays claimed the next two spots.

The women went on to sweep the next two events, with Madeline Laporte, Ellie Berdusco and Sammie Eyolfson finishing 1-2-3 in the 1000 free before Sinead Eksteen, Lindsay Stone and Alice Treuth swept the 200 free.

The fourth Irish sweep of the day came in the 200 fly when Luciana Thomas led the Irish trio with a time of 2:01.47. Katie Rentz and Cailey Grunhard finished shortly behind with a time of 2:05.47 and 2:05.65, respectively.

Matt Grauslys led the charge in the men’s 200 fly, leading the Irish to their first sweep on the men’s side and fifth overall. He finished first with a time of 1:47.99 followed by Zachary Smith (1:48.83) and Max Miranda (1:50.30).

In the diving well, the Irish women claimed the top four spots in the 1-meter competition. Kelly Straub earned first place with a score of 314.33 while Erin Isola and Annie Wiese tied for second with 299.48 points each. Claire Andrews rounded out the leaderboard with 296.32 points for fourth place overall.

After a short break, Kelly Jacob, Cailey Grunhard and Katie Smith tabbed the seventh clean sweep for the Irish against the Spartans, finishing the 100 free at the top.

The final Irish sweep of the day came in the women’s 500 free when Abbie Dolan, Luciana Thomas and Lauren Heller combined for first, second and third. Dolan led the trio with a time of 4:49.18 while Thomas swam the distance in 4:58.49. Heller touched the wall third overall with a final time of 5:08.48.

Other Scores:

Louisville vs. Indiana:
- Men: Indiana, 187; Louisville, 106
- Women: Indiana, 154.5; Louisville, 145.5
- Results
Ohio State vs. Pittsburgh
- Men: Ohio State, 193; Pitt, 107
- Women: Ohio State, 199.5; Pitt, 96.5
- Results

NC State, Notre Dame, North Carolina and Duke Athletics contributed to this post.

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David Fatzinger

5 years ago

Time for a new coach UNC!