UNC swim teams outsplashed by Virginia

It was a day of numbers for the No. 14 North Carolina men’s swim team.

Against No. 8 Virginia, UNC swimmers racked up 23 season best times, nabbed four NCAA consideration cuts and as a team shaved more than 27 seconds off of 2009-10 season bests.

But a particular digit stood out after Saturday’s rivalry meet — the one in the loss column.

“We can’t afford to make the choice of having (the loss) be a setback,” coach Rich DeSelm said. “It can be a disappointment, but we’ve got to learn from it and use it to find how we can be better.”

The UNC men’s team went into Saturday’s matchup a perfect 8-0 (4-0 in the ACC). Though the Tar Heels only won five of 16 events, the Cavaliers were not able to run away with it. Depth allowed UNC to secure second and third place in five events, and the Tar Heels delivered the one-two punch twice.

Tommy Wyher led UNC with a pair of wins in the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard backstroke. Freshman Tom Luchsinger followed suit, finishing first in the 200-yard butterfly, cutting 1.05 seconds off his career best.

“I looked up at the scoreboard and to see your personal best is always an awesome feeling,” Luchsinger said. “Not only to have that, but then to have my teammates behind me yelling and screaming, it was just icing on the cake.”

Luchsinger was not the only freshman to make waves. In her second-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke, Carly Smith achieved a career best of 53.51, breaking both the 10-year-old pool and school records. Smith swam season bests in all four of her events, more than any other Tar Heel in the meet.

“They’re our biggest competition, and so I just had that in the back of my mind,” Smith said. “I knew today was the day and it was time to lay it down on the line.”

Despite Smith’s standout performance, the No. 15 North Carolina women’s team fell to No. 11 Virginia. Laura Moriarty had one of the women’s five event wins in the 200-yard breaststroke, winning by more than a second and qualifying for a NCAA consideration. Moriarty also took second place in the 200-yard butterfly, earning her second consideration cut of the day.

The Tar Heels will take on Virginia again in late February at the ACC Championships. And UNC’s swimmers are looking forward to a rematch.

“(The loss will) definitely serve as motivation,” Luchsinger said. “We are a bunch of guys that hate to lose.”



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.