UNC swimmers hit the lanes

You don't often see a top collegiate athlete request a redshirt season — especially an athlete on the verge of establishing himself as one of the nation's best.

But that's exactly what sophomore swimmer Chip Peterson did last fall. He opted to take a year off from the pool in order to train for May's Open Water World Swimming Championships in Seville Spain where a top-10 finish in the 10K race would grant Peterson an Olympic berth.

Peterson finished 20 seconds behind the race winner and placed 13th in the event" putting his open-water dreams on hold for the moment and turning his attention back to the pool.

""(Open water) is kind of on the back burner right now" Peterson said. I'm definitely still interested in it as a future kind of thing" but right now I'm really focusing on the short-course swimming.""

The distance freestyler certainly seemed comfortable in the chlorinated waters of Koury Natatorium on Sunday" cruising to victory against fellow Tar Heel Jesse Mendes in the 1650-yard freestyle in the Tar Heel Invitational Mile Meet.

The meet was primarily for local age-group swimmers a detail that might account for the preteens showing off their best chicken dances to music played over the loudspeakers before the meet began.

For Tar Heels such as Peterson and Mendes though the meet provides a valuable chance to swim the mile" an event that is not swum at most dual meets but will be featured in the NCAA and ACC Championships.

""This is one of the only opportunities that I'm going to get to swim the mile this year" Peterson noted. I haven't swum it since I was a freshman so it was more just get in swim a mile" race it and see how it felt.""

Sunday's swims capped a successful weekend for the Tar Heels as the women's team tied for second Saturday at the Dallas Classic.

""We're excited about it" coach Rich DeSelm said Sunday.

We stepped up and did well tied for second overall and had a number of season-best performances" even a couple of lifetime-best performances.""

These career bests came from a number of sources in an impressive show of depth" allowing the team to earn runner-up honors without notching a single first-place finish.

Freshman Layne Brodie lead the way for the Tar Heels claiming second-place finishes in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard individual medley.

The team fared well against strong competition — each of the six teams in the field were ranked in the top 25" which DeSelm said is invaluable.

""The more often you get a chance to (swim with national powers)"" the better it prepares you for the stressful times of high-level competition.""



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.