UNC swimming and diving falls to Tennessee

The North Carolina swimming and diving team travelled to Knoxville, Tennessee, over the weekend to compete in a two-day dual meet against the Tennessee Volunteers. The men lost by a score of 216-156, and the women fell 205-167.

What happened?

The first day of events on Friday resulted in slim deficits for both the men and women, as both sides were within 10 points of the Vols.

On the diving side, Jack Nyquist continued his dominance, placing first on the one- and three-meter boards. His three-meter score of 446.93 was only one point shy of the school record, set by David MacDonald in 2009. Elissa Dawson and Maria Lohman also had solid performances on the boards.

The swimmers also saw success in many events. On the women’s side, the relay teams swept both races on the first day. Senior captain Hellen Moffitt also had a solid showing on Friday, placing first in the 200-yard backstroke and contributing to the win in the 400-yard medley relay.

The men had success as well, especially from senior Jordan Merrilees, who placed first in the 500-yard freestyle as well as the 200-yard backstroke.

Success on the second day of the meet, however, appeared less often. Neither the men nor the women were able to cut Tennessee’s lead, instead letting it grow.

“We were competitive and within striking distance after yesterday (Friday),” Coach Rich DeSelm said. “We didn’t bring it today (Saturday). We could have been better and we needed to be better in order to have a chance to win the meet.”

Moffitt and Merrilees continued to see success, each adding two more individual wins to their already impressive weekends.

Despite impressive individual performances, the men and women were not able to outdo the Volunteers, losing by 60 points and 38 points, respectively.

Who stood out?

On the men’s side, Merrilees dominated most of his events, sweeping four of them — 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard backstroke, 100-yard backstroke, and 200-yard freestyle.

On the women’s side, Moffitt stood out. She placed first in three individual events — 200-yard backstroke, 100-yard backstroke, and 100-yard butterfly, as well as a relay.

When was it decided?

Tennessee’s performance on Friday seemed to be the deal breaker for the Tar Heels. Although UNC had strong individual performances, Tennessee was better all around and got out to an early lead, one that UNC was never able to overcome.

Why does it matter?

This was UNC’s second loss, which means it is now off to an 0-2 start to the season. The good news for the Tar Heels, however, is that both of their losses have come to very good swimming programs.

The first loss came to Georgia, a team that boasted a No. 1 ranked women’s team and a No. 3 ranked men’s team. Tennessee's men’s and women’s programs were ranked No. 10 and 13, respectively.

Where do they play next?

The Tar Heels play host to the NCAC Mile Meet at October 29 and then begin their ACC campaign at Louisville on November 4-5 for a two-day dual meet.

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