North Carolina Falls to Virginia, One Dual Meet Remaining in the Season

Saturday, January 25

Charlottesville, Va.

DIVING/Noon • SWIMMING/3 p.m.

North Carolina

Virginia

Sophie Lindner

Photo by: Barron Northrup

North Carolina Falls to Virginia, One Dual Meet Remaining in the Season

January 25, 2020 | Swimming & Diving

Final Results

CHAPEL HILL --- The Tar Heels traveled home from Charlottesville Saturday night after a challenging dual meet against Virginia. Sophie Lindner, Fabian Stepinski and others had remarkable performances, but both teams lost the duals to Virginia's No. 17 men and No. 6 women, 181-118 and 171-125 respectively.

"I'm extremely proud of our team for competing well against one of the nation's best teams," said head coach Mark Gangloff. "We are in a great position for this time of year."

Both the men's and women's teams placed second in the 400-yard medley relay, and North Carolina's women also finished second in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Coach Gangloff described the relay performances as "a primary indicator of their desire to represent UNC well."

Sophie Lindner swam exceptionally for the women, placing first in the 100-yard backstroke and the 200-yard backstroke with times of 53.66 and 1:55.59. Grace Countie, Lilly Higgs and Caroline Hauder also contributed significantly in various events. In the 50-yard freestyle, Countie struck a tie for first place with Virginia's Morgan Hill.

On the men's team, Valdas Abaliksta secured first in the 100-yard breaststroke and second in the 200-yard breaststroke. Others who snatched instrumental second-place finishes on the men's team included Jack Messenger, Dimitrios Dimitriou, Thomas Bretzmann and Tucker Burhans.

North Carolina's divers had a strong meet with Fabian Stepinski and Alex Hart placing first and second, both with personal records, in the men's 1-meter competition. Stepinski also placed first in the men's 3-meter, and Emily Grund placed second in both the women's 1-meter and 3-meter.

"I am very happy with the team today," said Yaidel Gamboa, head diving coach. "They were pushed out of their comfort zone and responded really well. We just have to keep working hard and trust the process."

The Tar Heels travel to Duke next Saturday for their last dual meet of the season before competing in the ACC Championships at the end of February.