The North Carolina women's swimming team had a record-setting performance at the women’s ACC Championships last week, finishing fourth out of 13 teams. The event was held from Feb 13 to Feb 16 in the McAuley Aquatics Center in Atlanta.
What happened?
North Carolina was on fire on Monday, finishing in first place at the conclusion of the first day of the ACC Swimming championships. Led by the relay team of Caroline Baldwin, Hellen Moffitt, Katie Munch and Sarah Hitchens, the Tar Heels finished third in the 200-yard medley in a school-record performance.
Elissa Dawson won bronze in 3-meter diving, and Maria Lohman finished sixth. Jack Nyquist also won bronze in men's 3-meter diving competition. The 800-yard freestyle team — consisting of Caty Hulsey, Zhada Fields, Sarah Koucheki and Macey Arnold — finished sixth.
On Tuesday, the Tar Heels had another strong showing, led by Baldwin. The junior finished runner-up in the 50-yard freestyle and set a school record in the preliminaries. Additionally, Macey Arnold finished fifth in the 500-yard freestyle. When the dust had settled, the Tar Heels stood in third place after the second day of competition.
On Wednesday, Moffitt won the ACC Championship in the 100-yard butterfly with a phenomenal performance. Her time of 50.86 was the second-best time in the nation this season and the second-best in program history. The Tar Heels also had a pair qualify for the NCAA Championships in the 100-yard backstroke, with Baldwin finishing second and Moffitt finishing third. The 400-yard medley team also qualified for the NCAA Championships.
On the final day of competition, the 400-yard freestyle relay team set a school record. The Tar Heels finished third in the event and qualified for the NCAA Championships with a time of 3:13.49. In the 200-yard backstroke, Moffitt broke a school record and finished second overall. Dawson capped off the day and remarkable week for North Carolina with a third-place finish in the 10-meter dive.
Who stood out?
Co-captain Caroline Baldwin had an excellent weekend in the pool. The junior is now the holder of many team records for North Carolina swimming. In 2017, she has set the team record for 50-freestyle and 100-freestyle, and she holds the school record for 100-backstroke.
