UNC gets second in conference swim meet

The North Carolina men were familiar with being second best in this weekend’s ACC Swimming and Diving Championship — perhaps a little too familiar.

UNC finished second in 11 of 18 events as the Tar Heels struggled to keep Virginia off the winner’s podium. The Cavaliers cruised to their 11th conference championship in 12 years with 806 points. North Carolina followed with 656.5.

“We were good. We needed to be better to try and catch Virginia,” UNC coach Rich DeSelm said. “You can’t just be good against a team like that.”

But for Tommy Wyher, there was a different story behind the number two.

The UNC junior was a double ACC champion for the second consecutive year in individual events, taking the crown in the 100-yard backstroke and butterfly. Wyher added a third championship in day one of competition when the Tar Heels finished first in the 200-yard medley relay for the first time in 14 years.

In Saturday night’s finals, Wyher proved he wasn’t perfect. He finished second in the 200-yard backstroke, falling to defending champion Andy Hodgson of Florida State.

Despite a bump in the road, Wyher broke 13 records in two individual and three relay swims during the championship.

“It’s never a given. Everyone else in the pool wants what (Wyher) wants,” DeSelm said. “There’s always someone better than you, and there’s always someone chasing you. And he knows that.”

Junior Tyler Harris finished second in three different individual events, and freshman Tom Luchsinger improved from a third seed to become the runner-up in the 200-yard butterfly.

“I came in here not knowing what to expect, and to look up at the scoreboard and see second place and a personal best time, it’s an incredible feeling,” Luchsinger said. “I couldn’t describe it.”

In Saturday’s opening event, UNC juniors Joe Kinderwater and Chip Peterson made their marks — and took them.

Seeded second and third in the 1,650-yard freestyle respectively, Peterson was able to nab his first conference championship. Kinderwater followed in second.

“We train together every single day. Chip and I’s goal was to go one-two,” Kinderwater said. “We posted great times that are going to be competitive throughout the nation. It capped off a great meet.”

To DeSelm’s dismay, UNC would send only one swimmer to the podium in the rest of Saturday’s events.

“We’ve got more (depth) than we had last year. We’ve got some winners and some people getting medals, but to win a championship you have to do more of what teams that do win championships do, have multiple finalists in the top eight.”

North Carolina’s 656.5 points is more than the men’s team has scored in an ACC championship in the past 10 years. DeSelm is taking the statistic and looking forward to a brighter future — one that includes a conference title for the Tar Heels.

“I think we’ll be better next year,” he said. “We have to be.”



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.