UNC swim and dive teams conclude weekend at NCSU Invitational

Both the North Carolina men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams competed in the NCSU Invitational in Greensboro this weekend. 

The women’s team is currently ranked 18th in the country, while the men’s team is ranked 25th.

What happened?

The women’s team finished in fourth place out of ten teams, while the men’s team placed sixth out of nine. Overall, four swimmers from the women’s team and one from the men’s team earned bronze medals, but were joined by nine more of their teammates that placed in the top five for their respective events. 

Who stood out? 

Junior Caroline Cooper, senior Grace Countie, junior Addison Smith and junior Ellie VanNote placed third in the 200-meter IM, 100-meter freestyle, 500-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly events, respectively. 

Sophomore Noah Rutberg placed third in the 200-meter IM.

When was it decided?

The invitational took place over three days with each event holding preliminary and final races to determine winners. Individual athletes competed at their designated times while results were tracked for all events and released at the conclusion of the weekend. 

Why does it matter?

The NSCU Invitational should serve as good preparation for the Tar Heels as the teams look ahead to the U.S. Open event. 

Each team was able to gain experience against strong athletes as each of the top three placing teams on the men’s side — N.C. State, Stanford and Arizona State — were ranked in front of North Carolina. On the women’s side, both N.C. State and Stanford were ranked ahead of the Tar Heels.

When do they play next?

Both the men’s and women’s swim teams will compete in the U.S. Open event in Greensboro starting Wednesday, Dec. 1 and running through Saturday, Dec. 4. 

Men’s and women’s diving will have a couple weeks off before competing in the Winter Diving Nationals on Monday, Dec. 13 through Sunday Dec. 19.

This will be each team’s last event of the fall semester before their seasons resume in January.  

@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com