As if the prospect of racing 55 lengths of an Olympic-sized swimming pool wasn’t daunting enough, several members of the North Carolina swim team headed to the ocean to swim an equivalent 1.7-mile stretch of Wrightsville Beach on Saturday.

UNC swimmers Tom Luchsinger, Dan O’Connor and Sean Lane swept the top three overall men’s spots in this year’s Pier-2-Pier race, which was sponsored by the Cape Fear Aquatic Club. UNC freshmen Kelsey Cummings and Danielle Siverling finished first and second respectively in the 16-18 age group for the women.

Although the NCAA does not sanction open-water events, coach Rich DeSelm said that open-registration competitions serve as a helpful break from the pool before the season begins in earnest.

“We think it’s a good way to train our athletes for the pool,” he said. “Not everyone likes swimming in lakes or oceans, but if you’re a Division I athlete, you’re competing and training most of the year, and open water is a good way to do it.”

Cummings, a freshman distance swimmer, said she agrees.

“Open water makes the pool events seem a lot shorter,” she said. “The mile is over in 17 minutes, and this took about 35.”

DeSelm said Siverling’s second-place finish showed the athlete’s promise, especially since her specialty lies in shorter freestyle events. He said he hopes that these open-water results bode well for the upcoming season in the pool.

“Our women were 23rd last year, after being 20th the two years previous to that,” DeSelm said. “We definitely weren’t satisfied with that finish. It was great to be (at the NCAAs), but I think that we have the talent and the ability to do better this year.”

The men’s team placed 14th at the NCAA meet last March but will have to deal with the loss of veteran swimmers Tyler Harris, Tommy Wyher and Joe Kinderwater in the 2011-12 season. A four-year All-American, Kinderwater now competes as an open-water swimmer for the U.S. national team in the 10-kilometer event.

Still, the team has retained enough firepower to remain competitive on a national scale. Luchsinger, who won the men’s overall contest on Saturday, was recently named a member of the U.S. national team.

DeSelm said that he hopes freshman John Paul Gaylor, who placed second in the 18-and-under age group at Wrightsville, will continue to develop.

“He’s got a great work ethic and a ton of talent, and we hope for him to be a contributor in the next year,” DeSelm said.

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