Tar Heel Women 4-0 After Double Dual Meet Wins In Annapolis

Saturday, January 12

Annapolis, Md.

11:00 A.M.

North Carolina

Penn State University

Sophie Lindner

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

January 12, 2019 | Swimming & Diving

Results

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The North Carolina swimming and diving teams left the Penn State, Navy and Carolina rematch on Saturday with three more dual meet wins under their belt. For the second-straight season, the Tar Heel women swept their opponents, winning 192-108 against Navy and 173-127 against Penn State. The men were able to hold the lead over the Nittany Lions to come out victorious, 155-145, but the Midshipmen redeemed themselves from their 2018 performance and bested the Heels 161-134 in their home pool.

"It was great to compete against Navy and Penn State today," UNC head coach Rich DeSelm said. "Our women had a good showing today. We're consistently competitive and we've had a lot of the women step up. Our divers performed very well today and Sophie Lindner and Grace Countie had some terrific swims. As for the men, I'd say Alvin Jiang headlined the day. He won three individuals events and swam on our winning medley relay in commanding fashion. Alvin has been our most consistent men's competitor this year and he works hard every day. He's a great racer. Valdas Abaliksta and Sterling Smith also stepped up for us on relays in their individual events, but our lack of depth was apparent in too many events. We need to improve each week and have everyone competing take on a larger role."

Quickly becoming staples in the swimming and diving community, sophomores Alvin Jiang and Valdas Abaliksta and freshmen Grace Countie and Sophie Lindner have dominated the season charts.

Jiang came home undefeated in all four of his appearances against Penn State and Navy. He took the 100 fly with a season-best time of 46.73, the 100 back in 48.10 and the 50 free in 20.41 and the Colleyville, Texas native led off the winning men's 200 medley relay. Breaststroke specialist Abaliksta went one-two in the 200 (1:59.74) and 100 (54.68) breaststroke competitions and one-one in both relays, finishing behind only freshman teammate Sterling Smith — another major contributor for Carolina — who swam 54.14 in the 100 breast for the event title.

Another underclassmen powerhouse, Countie was undefeated in her four appearances, including both relays and the 100 back (54.51) and the 50 free (23.34). Though Lindner finished just behind Countie in the 100 back (54.70), she too went on to rack up three wins — one relay and two individual swims — in the 200 medley relay, 200 back (1:56.58) and 100 fly (54.59). Junior Bryanna Cameron who qualified for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials at Winter Nationals, one day after Lindner, also snagged a first-place finish with her 200 fly time of 2:00.69.

As if those performances were not impressive enough, the women's diving team swept both boards. Senior Maria Lohman ended the day with not one but two top finishes, setting a season-best scores of 310.90 in three-meter diving and 302.35 in one-meter. Freshman Emily Grund twice finished second with scores of 306.55 in three-meter and 269.35 in one-meter, and sophomore Taylor Hockenberry secured the podium sweep, scoring respective season bests of 302.65 and 267.30.

Additionally, the women's 50 free was a spectacular showing for the Tar Heels as Countie, junior Brooke Bauer, senior Kate Boyer and sophomore Maddie Smith took the top four spots in the event.

The Tar Heels also bookended the meet with back-to-back relay wins. Countie, Hauder, Lindner and Bauer swam 1:41.32 for first in the 200 medley relay while Jiang, Abaliksta, Burhans and Messenger teamed up for the win with 1:29.65 on the scoreboard. In the 400 free relays, the women (Bauer, Hauder, Countie, Fields) took the event with a time of 3:25.41 and the men (Smith, Abaliksta, Sungaila, Burhans) finished first in 2:59.92.

"It was great to see people step up into roles they may not have had too often," DeSelm said. "We have so many women continuing to be tough and critical competitors for us in every meet and some of the men like Tyler Hill, Tucker Burhans and Jack Messenger are all dependable and improving. Our captains provide leadership in and out of the pool so it was great to see them all compete well today."

Heading into a string of ACC dual meets with only one combined loss, UNC hopes to hold their own against the upcoming lineup of tough conference opponents.

UP NEXT: The Tar Heels will remain in the Triangle Area for the remainder of the regular season with ample opportunity for fans to catch them in action. Carolina first takes on NC State in Raleigh, N.C. on Saturday, Jan. 19 with back-to-back home meets to follow.