The North Carolina basketball teams weren't the only ones busy during the winter break.
Several of the Tar Heels' Olympic sports travelled across the country to compete in some key match-ups.
The wrestling team excelled in Dallas and the swim teams took their first ACC meets in Clemson S.C. The gymnastics team traveled all the way to Cancun. Here's some of the break's results.
WRESTLING
The wrestling team won its first ACC meet Sunday 19-15 against Maryland following several big wins in December for the Tar Heels.
Though the highlight was a 31-3 dismantling of Cal Poly in the Lone Star Duels the Tar Heels excelled overall completing several out-of-state tournaments with wins against nationally ranked opponents.
Seven of UNC's 10 starting wrestlers earned national rankings this week after several strong showings in meets in the past month.
The Tar Heels finished non-conference play strong with nine place-winners at Dec. 29's Southern Scuffle and won two of three matches at Jan. 3's Lone Star Duals.
Seniors Vincent Ramirez and Keegan Mueller and junior Dennis Drury all are ranked in the top 20 in all three major wrestling rankings. Drury managed three victories against ranked opponents in the month's meets and Ramirez has a team-best 22-5 record.
WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS
Christine Nguyen opened another season strongly with a 9.90 balance beam score that helped the Tar Heels finish fourth in the first session of Jan. 2's Cancun Classic.
UNC junior Tina Jacob followed closely behind Nguyen with a 9.775 on beam and junior Kara Wright was the team's top all-arounder with a 38.250.
Nguyen's score of 9.90 was the highest on any event in the meet and North Carolina finished with a score of 190.325. LSU with 194.900 took first in the competition.
SWIMMING
The 13th-ranked North Carolina men's swimming and diving team and 14th-ranked women's team both garnered decisive victories against Clemson's teams Jan. 10 in the first dual meets for the teams in more than two months.
At Clemson the men's team dominated 180-118 and the women outscored the Tigers 174-124.
North Carolina increased its dual meet win streak to three with the victory and both teams improved their records to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the ACC.
The UNC men won 10 of the 14 individual events in addition to one relay as an exhibition with freshman Brad Hamilton leading the way with two individual wins and a member of the winning 400-yard freestyle relay. Both teams return to action next weekend.
TRACK
The Tar Heel track teams opened up the 2009 season with an easy victory for the women's side and a second-place finish for the men's squad in the Art and Linda Maillet Tar Heel Invitational on Saturday.
Callie Pottinger and Vanneisha Ivy both managed NCAA provisional marks in the meet Pottinger in the 800-meter run and Ivy in the 60-meter hurdles.
The Tar Heel women scored first in almost every individual event and the team swept the top three spots in the 60-meter dash and the top six in the 200-meter dash.
Abby Kimball took top prize in the pole vault and UNC's rookies excelled in the field events. Freshman Jacinda Evans scored first in the long jump in her first meet attempt. Freshman Michelle Newman took the title in triple jump and rookie Becky O'Brien finished first in the shot put.
Charles Cox and Ryan Booker finished in the top two for the men in the 400-meter dash and the team also placed two in the top three spots for the 800-meter run.
Three Tar Heels finished in the top three spots in the pole vault with Scott Houston winning by clearing 15-7.
WOMEN'S GOLF
Four North Carolina golfers played in the 54th Harder Hall Women's Invitational and all four placed in the championship flight as the low 36 scorers.
Sydney Crane led the Tar Heels finishing in a tie for 15th with a 301 total after carding a three-over-par 75 in the fourth and final round.
Freshman Catherine O'Donnell from Ponte Vedra Beach Fla. fired a one-over 73 on Saturday for a 302 total to tie for 17th place.
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
Check in on break's results
Senior Vincent Ramirez takes on an opponent in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in November. Though he lost a major decision Sunday against Maryland Ramirez the country?s No. 20 in his weight class leads UNC with a 22-5 record.
