Duke vs. North Carolina

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina, February 4. THE University of North Carolina men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams wrapped up their dual meet seasons Friday night with impressive victories over Duke. The UNC men beat the Blue Devils 168-107 while the UNC women triumphed by a score of 163-122.

“Tonight was a great victory over Duke, and I’m very pleased with what I saw,” said North Carolina head coach Rich DeSelm, “As a group, for them to step up and swim many lifetime-best times is a confidence builder for everyone else.”

The win earned North Carolina two points in the Battle of the Blues presented by Continental Tire. The Battle of the Blues is an all-sports competition in which point values are attached to either the season series or higher finish in the ACC Championship in each respective sport. UNC now leads Duke 9-2 in the Battle of the Blues.

Tonight was also senior night at Koury Natatorium, as 16 Carolina seniors and their indelible impacts on UNC swimming were highlighted in a pre-meet presentation. Joining senior manager Will Bondurant and student assistant coach Allison Barnes were Katura Harvey, Rebecca Kane, Ashley Miller, Andy Brake, Robert Grimmett-Norris, Josh Hafkin, Tyler Harris, Flynn Jones, Joe Kinderwater, Vinny Pryor, Tyler Smith, Chandler Thomas, Tommy Wyher, and David Zolno.

“This is a group that I’ll remember as my first true recruiting class,” said DeSelm, “They’ve helped shape and grow the program to where it is today, so hopefully their contributions will be long-lasting.”

For the women, sophomore Katie Nolan and Kane led the way with an individual and relay 1st-place finish each. In addition to both finishing 1st in the 400 Medley Relay, Nolan placed on top in the 100 Free (51.17), and Kane swam to victory in the 50 Free (22.94).

Juniors Amber Leiker and Sarah List posted career-best winning times in the 200 Free (1:50.19) and 100 Back (54.11), respectively. Meanwhile, in 200 Fly action, junior Laura Ruscoe (1:59.99) and freshman Meredith Hoover (1:58.93) likewise notched career-bests. In 500 Free competition, sophomore Jacque Rudolph’s 2nd-place finish also eclipsed her previous best by seven seconds.

On the men’s side, senior Tyler Smith spearheaded the Carolina effort, posting a career best time in his 100 Breast victory in addition to taking the top spot in the 100 Fly. In that same 100 Breast event, Thomas broke his previous personal-best by a full second (55.77) to finish out his Koury Natatorium career in style.

Senior Tommy Wyher also swam well for Carolina, taking the top spot in both the 400 Medley and 400 Free relays in addition to his 1st-place finish in the 100 Free (45.34).

Not to be outdone, a couple freshmen notched 1st-place finishes as well. Kyle Ficker took top honors in the 50 Free (20.41) and Dan O’Connor emerged on top in the 500 Free with a 4:23.62 time three seconds better than his previous record. Junior Victor LeClere shaved over one second off his previous top time in his 200 Fly victory (1:46.76), while junior Alex Gianino bested his previous record in the 400 IM (3:51.13).

The defending ACC Champion 200 Medley relay team of Hafkin, Wyher, Pryor, and junior Steve Cebertowicz also posted their best time of the season with a 1:29.09 performance.

It was also a big night in the deep end for junior Jenna Moore, as the Tar Heel captain swept the one- and three-meter diving events for the Tar Heels. Meanwhile, sophomore Jake Kinzbach and junior David MacDonald took home top honors in the one-meter and three-meter diving events, respectively.

Carolina will be in action again tomorrow when they travel to Durham, NC for the College Cup Invitational.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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