UNC swimming teams break records in opening meet

The North Carolina men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams opened a new season Saturday by breaking 12 meet records at the annual Blue vs. White intersquad meet in Koury Natatorium.

“I think that’s a good sign. It’s a sign that we either are getting better or have more talent,” coach Rich DeSelm said. “I think it’s both.”

Three men set Blue vs. White meet records in two events.

Junior Steve Cebertowicz broke records in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events, while senior Vinny Pryor set new records in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events. Tommy Wyher shattered records in both the 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard butterfly events.

Wyher, a New Port Richey, Fla. native, is currently the defending ACC champion and record holder in both events. The senior was recently named the team’s most valuable and outstanding swimmer for last season.

“I couldn’t be more proud of an individual,” DeSelm said. “He’s one of the most powerful swimmers in college swimming.”

On the women’s side, senior Rebecca Kane broke her own record in the 50-yard freestyle, while freshman Stephanie Peacock set a meet record in the 500-yard freestyle event.

“To come out and be first, it really means a lot because everyone here is just really fast and everyone trains so hard,” Peacock said.

Underclassmen dominated the pool for the women Saturday as freshman Meredith Hoover won the 200-yard butterfly event, and sophomore Carly Smith won both the 100- and 200-yard backstroke events.

DeSelm described Smith, a Chapel Hill native, as extremely talented, and said he expects her to perform well this season.

“We’re excited about having some young people step up and be near the top few placers today,” he said.

On the other hand, the men’s team is more experienced, as DeSelm’s first recruiting class begins its senior year at North Carolina.

“It’s a lot different from when we were younger,” said Wyher. “The team’s a lot faster, people are more focused — it’s a lot of fun watching how the team’s grown up with our class.”

The White team beat the Blue team in the women’s event by a score of 129-127. In the men’s competition the Blue team won 136-123.

“Across the board we’ve got a good group, a really deep men’s team, we’ve got some holes in the women’s team and if somebody wants to fill them the opportunity is there,” DeSelm said. “We just need to train for it, and every time they get a chance to compete take advantage of it.”

In the diving competition, the White team beat the Blue team 327.53-264.15 led by redshirt junior David MacDonald.

The swimming and diving teams will return to action Friday when they host East Carolina at 4 p.m. in Koury Natatorium.

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.