UNC swimming and diving teams fall just short of victory against Duke on Senior Day

The North Carolina swimming and diving teams competed in a rivalry matchup against Duke on Saturday in the Koury Natatorium. Saturday’s meet honored 11 UNC seniors for their last regular season home meet and both the men (155-145) and the women (165-134.5) fell short. 

What happened?

After a Senior Day celebration to start the meet, the Tar Heels and the Blue Devils turned on their competitive drive. The teams battled the entire meet, undergoing many lead changes and wins declared by fractions of a second.  

“I was expecting it to be pretty competitive but it was a lot more competitive than I thought it would be," first-year Sophie Lindner said. "It was really exciting to have our first Duke meet.” 

For the women, Duke set a tone for the meet coming out strong in the opening 200-yard medley relay, securing a first place finish. 

In the next event, senior Robyn Dryer gave the Tar Heels their first top finish of the meet in the 1000-yard freestyle. 

Lindner began her notable day with a second place finish in the 100-yard backstroke. She followed it up later with a top finish in the 200-yard backstroke — winning by nearly four seconds.

But Duke was dominant in the 200-yard butterfly, finishing in both first and second. Duke also took command on the scoreboard during the 100-yard freestyle, finishing in the top three places. 

For the men, UNC had a first place finish from sophomore Alvin Jiang in the 100-yard backstroke. Jiang also won the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 47.71. 

As the meet continued, the Blue Devils swam to first place in the 100-yard freestyle, the 200-yard backstroke, the 500-yard freestyle and the 400-yard freestyle relay, which ultimately gave them the upper-hand over the Tar Heels. 

Who stood out?

Grund had a career best dive on the 3-meter scoring 350.4, which gave her a first place finish.  

“I just tried to be consistent throughout the whole thing," Grund said. "I wasn’t really focused on the scores, I was just trying to take it one dive at a time and it was positive that everything went smoothly and as planned." 

Cairns made sure his last regular season meet against Duke was one of his strongest. Finishing second in the 200-yard butterfly and first in the 200-yard individual medley, he was an essential swimmer for UNC to stay within striking distance. 

When was it decided?

Neither team secured the victory until the last four events. A Duke win in the women’s 200 individual medley pretty solidly declared Duke’s women victorious. Cairns returned the favor, clinching a first place finish in the men’s 200 individual medley, swimming it in 1:50.09, fractions of a second faster than Duke’s Sean Tate. Duke secured its victory winning both the men and women’s 400 yard freestyle relay. 

“I’m proud of the team," head coach Rich DeSelm said. "They had no give up. We just didn’t have enough people getting the places that we needed.” 

Why does it matter?

Besides this being a rivalry meet, it finished out the regular season for both teams. The teams will meet again next weekend in a local invitational meet as they head into the championship portion of the season. 

When do they play next?

Next weekend will be split between Durham and Chapel Hill as UNC competes in the Janis Hape Dowd Nike Invitational. Friday, Feb. 8 and Sunday, Feb. 10 will be in Koury Auditorium, while Saturday, Feb. 9 will be just down the road in Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion

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