UNC Earns Best ACC Men's Finish Since 2016

Saturday, February 27

Greensboro, N.C.

6 PM

North Carolina

ACC Championships

Chris Thames
500-yard freestyle
University of North Carolina Swimming and Diving
Janis Hape Dowd Invitational
Koury Natatorium
Chapel Hill, NC
Thursday, December 3, 2020

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

February 27, 2021 | Swimming & Diving

Results

GREENSBORO, N.C. - North Carolina finished sixth at the 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Swimming Championship from the Greensboro Aquatic Center.

The Tar Heels compiled 729 points to earn their best finish since placing third at the 2016 league championship.

Louisville finished first in the team standings with 1,181 points, narrowly edging out NC State's 1,179 points that was only good for second place. Virginia Tech (1,085), Virginia (921) and Florida State (740) rounded out the top five.

Valdas Abaliksta recorded his second school record in as many days. This time he smashed the 200-yard breaststroke mark by over a second that was set by Michael McBryan in 2018 at 1:54.66.

Abaliksta, who lowered his own record in the 100 breast event yesterday, swam a time of 1:53.49 in the prelims to set the new Carolina record. He placed eighth overall in the finals with a time of 1:54.08

Junior Jacob Rauch became the eighth fastest Tar Heel swimmer in the 200 breast with his time of 1:56.45 that placed him 14th overall.

Freshman Boyd Poelke lowered his career best time to 1:44.75 in the 200-yard butterfly prelims, the seventh fastest UNC swimmer in the event.

Poelke finished 11th overall with a finals time of 1:44.76.

Chris Thames touched home in 1:42.04 to finish seventh in the 200-yard backstroke.

Noah Rutberg was 16th in the 200 back at 1:43.94, a time that places him as the 10th fastest Tar Heel ever in the event.

Freshman Patrick Hussey placed 10th in the 1650-yard freestyle with his best effort of the season at 15:12.87, good enough for an NCAA "B" cut.

Junior Thomas Bretzmann was 22nd in the 1650 free at 15:28.38, also his fastest time of the season.

Seniors Jack Messenger and Daniel Koenigsperger placed 21st and 22nd in the 100-yard freestyle with times of 43.64 and 43.70, respectively. Both swam season-best times and earned NCAA "B" cut qualification, while Koenigsperger's time was his personal best in the event and the seventh fastest swim in school history.

UNC wrapped up the four-day event with an eighth-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle with a time of 2:53.54.

Carolina is hosting a women's swimming Last Chance Meet on Sunday with the finals beginning at 6 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.