The North Carolina swimming and diving teams dominated Georgia Tech this weekend but ran into trouble against a tougher Georgia.

Coming up just short was a common theme for the Tar Heels against the Bulldogs on Saturday.

Two one-hundredths of a second was all that separated UNC swimmer Stephanie Peacock from Georgia’s Wendy Trott at the end of the 500-yard freestyle.

Trott finished fifth at the NCAA championship in that same event last year.

“We were both together the whole way, and it was a good experience to race her,” Peacock said. “I’m excited to race her again at NCAAs.”

North Carolina started the weekend Friday in Atlanta against Georgia Tech. Both the men’s and women’s teams beat the Yellow Jackets to claim their first ACC wins of the year.

“We accomplished a lot of positive things,” coach Rich DeSelm said. “We were able to have some people swim some races they don’t typically swim.”

The Tar Heel women dominated the meet, winning 14 of 16 events. Senior captain Laura Moriarty continued to show her skill as she won two individual events.

DeSelm was quick to compliment his team, including team leaders Katie Nolan and Jenna Moore. Moore, one of UNC’s premier divers, won all four of her diving events.

“It’s really helpful having three years of experience,” Moore said. “I was able to step up for my team and score some points.

“It was a really great experience to compete against teams with such a high level of talent.”

On the men’s side, one athlete fared just as well as Moore in both of this weekend’s meets.

Steve Cebertowicz won both the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle in each meet.

“(Cebertowicz) is putting up times that are nationally competitive,” DeSelm said. “And he is certainly helping our relays.”

Junior Tom Luchsinger also had a strong weekend, winning three individual events.

While the team as a whole did not prevail in Saturday’s meet against Georgia, the athletes knew they had their hands full with a tough opponent.

“We knew that Georgia would be quite well prepared. They are always well coached. They always have a great team,” DeSelm said.

He did not see Saturday’s meet as a waste, even though both teams lost.

“Any time you can go fast against great competition it shows that your training is paying off, and that you have a lot of heart.”

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