North Carolina Swimming and Diving Teams Down Navy

Photo Credit: North Carolina Athletics

ANNAPOLIS – Multiple swimmers and divers recorded double victories and season-best times to lead the North Carolina swimming and diving teams to wins over host Navy on Saturday afternoon. The Tar Heel women took home a 184-105 win, while the men came out ahead 169-126.

North Carolina Press Release

The University of North Carolina swimming and diving teams continued dual meet action against the U.S. Navy Academy on Saturday afternoon in Lejeune Hall. The Tar Heel women prevailed 184-105 while the men’s team emerged victorious by a score of 169-126.

“Today, we continued the tradition of competing against the Naval Academy, which began in 1941,” said head coach Rich DeSelm. “It was great to have another meet with them and we were fortunate enough to come away with two victories.”

The men’s team won 12 of 16 events, including both relays. The Tar Heel women recorded the fastest time in all 16 events.

Four members of the women’s team- Hellen Moffitt, Danielle Siverling, Sarah Hitchens and Maddy Burns- earned the top placing in multiple individual events. Moffitt won both the 100 and 200-yard backstroke. Siverling placed first in the 200 and 500-yard freestyles. Hitchens finished in the top spot in the 50 and 100 freestyles. Burns earned the top placing in the 200-yard breaststroke and 200-yard individual medley.

UNC’s impressive performance was highlighted by seven season best times, including three by the women and four by the men.

Liliana Casso recorded a season best 1000 free (10:06.23) and Siverling went a season best 4:50.18 in the 500-yard freestyle. Hannah Lincoln had a season best 100-yard butterfly at 54.61. On the men’s side, Luke Lechner recorded a season best 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 9:26.52. Dominick Glavich went a season best 1:45.76 in the 200-yard butterfly and David Speese recorded a season best 200-yard breaststroke (2:02.03). Tyler Hill went a season best 1:51.48 in the 200-yard individual medley.

Both diving units recorded dominating performances on Saturday, earning the highest scores in all four events. In both men’s diving events, the Tar Heels earned the top three places. Jack Nyquist emerged victorious in both with a score of 393.08 in the one-meter and 308.70 in the three-meter.

Carolina finished with the fastest time in all relay events. In the women’s 200-yard medley relay, the Tar Heels earned the top three spots. The top team, which included Moffitt, Katie Munch, Lincoln and Ally Hardesty, finished with a time of 1:42.37. On the men’s side, UNC recorded the top two places in the 200-yard medley relay and the three fastest times in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

“We relied on some of our younger members of the sprint group and they really stepped up, especially in the relays,” said DeSelm.

“Today, we got ourselves back to racing and it will make our training in the next few weeks very meaningful. We need to keep improving in practice so that we can compete well in the next few dual meets,” said Coach DeSelm.

North Carolina will continue its dual meet season when it takes on the University of Virginia on Saturday, January 24 in Charlottesville, Va.

Navy Press Release

In their first home competitive action in Lejeune Hall since October, both Navy swimming and diving teams were defeated by the University of North Carolina on Saturday afternoon. In men’s action the Tar Heels (3-2) knocked off the Mids (6-4) by a score of 169 to 126, while the final score of the women’s meet was the No. 22 Tar Heels (4-1) 184 to 105 over the Mids (6-2).

Thomas Duvall (Jr., Durham, N.C.) and Marlin Brutkiewicz (So., Mobile, Ala.) led Navy’s effort on Saturday as the duo each took home a pair of victories. Duvall swept the distance freestyle action with a 4:30.52 result in the 500 and a 9:20.88 time in the 1000. In breaststroke racing, Brutkiewicz defeated his opposition with times of 55.18 in the 100 and 2:01.59 in the 200.

Five different Navy male swimmers earned second place results on Saturday. Alex Nickell (Jr., Loveland, Colo.) finished runner up to Duvall in the 1000 free with a time of 9:21.75, while Mathias Porter (Fr., Signal Mountain, Tenn.) finished behind Brutkiewicz in the 100 breaststroke. Riley Mita (Sr., Stevenson Ranch, Calif.) took second in the 200 free, while David Carlson (Jr., Brielle, N.J.) placed second with a time of 1:50.24 in the 200 backstroke. Young Tae Seo (Fr., Los Angeles, Calif.) was the final Navy swimmer to take second as the first-year competitor clocked in at 1:51.73.

“I was really pleased with our effort today,” said Navy men’s swimming head coach Bill Roberts. “Just about every single race provided close action and excitement. Everybody had somebody to race and that’s how you get better. Overall, I’m real happy with the way we performed. I think we took a step forward today.”

“Individually, Marlin [Brutkiewicz] had a really good day with two fantastic races and I’m happy that he was able to touch first,” remarked Roberts.

Hannah Collins (Fr., Bellbrook, Ohio) was the top-placing Mid in the women’s portion of the meet as she finished second in the 1-meter diving event. Collins completed the six-dive competition with a score 279.88. Navy’s top finishing female swimmer was Jenny Smith (Fr., Columbus, Ohio), who clocked with a time of 10:24.96 in the 1000 freestyle, good for third place.

Both squads will next be in action in two weeks on January 24 at Penn State. Action between the Mids and Nittany Lions is set for 11:00 a.m.

Results: North Carolina vs. Navy

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