As the last member of North Carolina’s first-place men’s 400-yard medley relay team touched the wall to conclude the first night of the three-day Janis Hape Dowd Nike Cup Invitational, the Tar Heel swimmers that were crowded around the edge of the pool began chanting.
From the first event to the last, the Tar Heels’ men’s and women’s swimming teams dominated the competition to take a commanding lead in front of an energetic crowd at Koury Natatorium.
By the end of the night, the UNC men and women had racked up 334 and 435 points, respectively.
The Tar Heels jumped out early, as both the men’s and women’s teams took first place in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The highlight of the night came in the 500-yard freestyle event, when sophomore Stephanie Peacock blew away the field and shattered the ACC record with a time of 4:35.73.
“This morning I didn’t feel good at all during my (preliminary) swim, so I was a little nervous before swimming my final race tonight,” Peacock said. “I felt really good during warm-ups, and I started feeling more confident when I put my suit on. I started getting more and more excited, and the whole race felt really good.”
UNC coach Rich DeSelm was pleased with Peacock’s swim.
“She’s worked hard. She’s fought back from some adversity, and my hat’s off to her,” DeSelm said. “She’s really pleasant to work with. She’s an exciting swimmer and she trains hard.”
The Tar Heels turned in several other noteworthy performances. Junior Tom Luchsinger, freshman Dominick Glavich and sophomore Alex Gianino swept the top three positions in the 200-yard individual medley.
“I’m very proud of my teammates,” said Luchsinger. “They push me every day to be better, faster and stronger. Taking one-two-three in an event is incredible.”
