In their first dual meet of the new year, the UNC swimming and diving teams travelled to the Willis R. Casey Aquatics Center on Friday to face the North Carolina State Wolfpack. Both of North Carolina’s swim teams lost to the Wolfpack by large margins, while the diving teams dominated the Wolfpack.
What happened?
During both the Tar Heels’ and Wolfpack’s first dual meet of 2021, the NC State men’s and women’s swim teams dominated the lanes, giving up only five first-place finishes to the Tar Heels.
The No. 4 NC State men’s team came out on top, defeating the No. 20 Tar Heels, 173-127. The No. 6 Wolfpack women’s team also defeated the No. 18 Tar Heels, winning by an even larger margin of 188-109.
In a stark contrast to the swimming teams, the UNC diving teams performed brilliantly, with the men’s team finishing with a 32-6 victory and the women’s team showing similar dominance with a margin of victory of 31-7. The Tar Heels swept first and second place finishes for every 1-meter and 3-meter event in both the men's and women's competitions.
Who stood out?
Senior swimmer Valdas Abaliksta just out-touched his NC State opponent for a first place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 53.92. Abaliksta also claimed victory in the 200-yard breaststroke, notching just ahead in the last 50 yards of the event for a time of 1:58.29.
Junior Tucker Burhans and first-year Boyd Poelke claimed two more first-place finishes for the Tar Heels, with Burhans taking the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 48.61. Poelke, meanwhile, soared into first place in the 100-yard butterfly at 47.38 and also secured second place in the 200-yard butterfly at 1:46.61.
For the Tar Heel women, the 400-yard freestyle relay team claimed the team’s only first place finish of the night with a time of 3:22.53. The sophomore trio of Ellie VanNote, Addison Smith, and Caroline Cooper notably claimed second, third and fourth in the 200-yard butterfly to gain the Tar Heels nine points.