Swimmers shine in ‘last chance meet’

In the final session of this weekend’s inaugural Triangle College Cup, someone kept coming up short.

And to the delight of North Carolina swimming and diving coach Rich DeSelm, it wasn’t UNC swimmers.

On the last night of the two-day meet, the competition was delayed after the Koury Natatorium staff realized the pool wasn’t quite 25 yards long. The movable wall which keeps the pool at regulation length floated out of place, leaving the pool several inches too short.

 “I appreciate the support of the administration and facility folks,” DeSelm said. “We had a little blip with the bulkhead tonight, but we got that fixed within 15 minutes.”

Every year the NCAA allows teams to create “last chance meets,” in which swimmers who don’t travel to conference championships can get a final chance to qualify for the NCAA Championship. Over the past few years for UNC, these meets have been lackluster.

This inspired DeSelm to make a change. With the help of the coaching and Koury Natatorium staff, the Triangle College Cup was created.

It was originally planned to take place just among UNC, N.C. State and Duke, but the invitation was later extended to other ACC schools. Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech were later added to the lineup.

“(It was) just a much more inspiring, team-oriented environment,” DeSelm said. “We all know when a crowd gets behind someone, an athlete in this case, great things can happen that might not happen just by yourself.”

And for the Tar Heels, great things certainly did take place.

With a time of 2:00.27 in the 200 individual medley, sophomore Marie Pesacreta improved her personal best by more than a second, earning a consideration time for the NCAA Championships, and breaking a 21-year-old pool record.

“It was pretty cool, considering how old it is,” Pesacreta said. “The fact that we’ve had pretty recent ACCs here means it’s a pretty long-standing record. It’s a good feeling.”

Five other UNC swimmers also achieved NCAA consideration cuts. Sophomore Sean Lane led the Tar Heels in earned cuts for the weekend, with consideration times in the 500- and 1,650-yard freestyle.

Time will tell whether results from the Cup will earn the Tar Heels any more coveted NCAA meet spots. But with seven possible qualifying times achieved by UNC and many more from rival schools, DeSelm said that the inaugural meet established its intended purpose.

“I thought it was a great experience for everyone that came — our team, and all the other teams,” he said. “It was all about trying to put your hard work into results.”

The Triangle College Cup followed Friday night’s matchup against N.C. State, the final dual meet of the season. Both Tar Heel teams defeated the Wolfpack and finished 6-1 in the ACC.

For many North Carolina swimmers, the next stop will be ACC Championships. They still have a couple of weeks before the UNC-hosted event, but DeSelm is confident that his teams are ready.

“They’ve trained so hard, so consistently, so long,” he said. “It’s what every swimmer on every team in the country looks forward to, which is the end of the season and a chance to do something for their school, for their teammates and for themselves.”



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.