Men's Swimming Topples Terrapins

"It was a good day," Kline said.

A good day was just what UNC men's swimming and diving team needed.

The Tar Heels handed Maryland its first conference loss 205-95 Saturday in Koury Natatorium. After losing to Virginia last week and with ACC Championships fast approaching, UNC wanted to regain momentum in the conference.

"We had a tough loss last week against Virginia, which is our big rival," Kline said. "But Maryland is an ACC rival as well. We were pumped and swam really well."

Nine different Tar Heels claimed first place in their events. UNC (5-2, 3-1 in the ACC) won 12 of the 16 events.

"The win was definitely a confidence booster," said sophomore diver Stephen Krebs. "Maryland is a good team and we basically destroyed them."

The destruction began when sophomore Stephen Mohr finished just more than 13 seconds ahead of Maryland's first finisher in the 1000-yard freestyle.

UNC won the next six events.

Kline's good day peaked when he won the 200-yard relay with a season-best time of 1:40.

"We're starting to rest a little bit because ACCs are at the end of the month," Kline said. "Plus, the senior ceremony was pretty special, and having it be my last meet there definitely helped."

The Tar Heels dominated both relay events as well. Maryland (7-2, 1-1 in the ACC) never inched ahead of UNC's 'A' team in the 200 relay.

The 400 relay proved to be a bit more of a challenge for the Tar Heels. Maryland pulled out in front for the first two legs of the relay.

Unfortunately for the Terrapins, Tar Heel freshman Justin Donato pulled ahead in the third leg. Junior standout Kevin Erndl anchored the 3:04 win for UNC, just more than one second ahead of Maryland.

In addition to anchoring both relay wins, Erndl also placed first in the 50 freestyle and second in the 100 freestyle.

The Tar Heels dominated the Terrapins at the other end of the pool as well. Krebs, the Tar Heels' only two-event winner, placed first in the 1- and 3-meter dives. He is undefeated in the ACC in both diving categories.

"I've been happy with my performances in conference meets," Krebs said. "I've really been working hard. But the real test will be if I qualify for Nationals."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.