Tar Heel swimmers prep for Blue Devils

The North Carolina men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will host Duke on Friday, but it’s not the Blue Devils that are making coach Rich DeSelm uneasy.

In addition to serving as the final dual meet of the season, the competition against rival Duke will be the last time 14 Tar Heel seniors will compete together as a class.

“It’s pretty scary,” said DeSelm, who is in his fourth season as head coach of the Tar Heels. “It’s a good, good group.”

North Carolina returned three men and two women first team All-Americans from last season. And for four of them, Friday’s dual meet will be their last.

“Hopefully our younger people and the incoming freshmen next year can carry the torch,” DeSelm said.

“But it’s going to be challenging without these guys.”

Both teams cruised to wins last season against Duke, and the No. 12 Tar Heels are confident history will repeat itself when they host the unranked Blue Devils on Friday at Koury Natatorium.

In last year’s meet with Duke, freestyler Rebecca Kane took home four first-place finishes. Now with one dual meet left in her college career, DeSelm is expecting her to make a similar mark.

“She is the rock of our relays, and she’s just fast every time,” DeSelm said. “She doesn’t have a bad meet.”

Kane’s efforts will be joined by those of senior Katura Harvey, who has won seven events so far this season.

Though surprised that her senior night has arrived so soon, Harvey is finishing her dual meet career without a doubt in her mind about the successful future of the program.

“The atmosphere of the team is entirely different from when we were freshmen,” Harvey said.

“It’s really nice as a senior going out to see where the team is now … it’s definitely in a way better spot and going in a way better direction.”

On the men’s side, 11 Tar Heels swimmers and divers will compete in their final dual meet. The most notable holes created by the 2011 graduating class will be made by the loss of seniors Tommy Wyher, Joe Kinderwater and Tyler Harris.

All three men finished in the top eight individually in last year’s NCAA Championship and they each own at least one UNC record.

In last year’s ACC Championships, Wyher became a six-time conference champion for the Tar Heels.

The senior class boasts many accolades, and one of them is a perfect 3-0 record against Duke.

But Friday’s meet is about more than just fast times and beating rivals — it’s about celebrating the careers of athletes that have set a new standard for North Carolina swimming.

“We were Rich’s first true recruiting class, and he brought us all on because we were starting a new tradition here at UNC,” Kinderwater said.

“I know it’s going to be really special for him … it’s going to be a special night for everyone.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.