The North Carolina swimming and diving teams followed a loss in the ACC opener to N.C. State by dropping another bout to Virginia. Despite a 0-2 start to conference play, spirits were high due to the performances of several young stars on both the men’s and women’s squads.
The Tar Heels looked to defend their home turf against a stout Cavaliers squad that ranks 11th nationally for women’s and 16th for men’s, according to CSCAA polls. After putting up a fierce battle, UNC ultimately fell, 187-112, on the men’s side, and 172-126 on the women’s side.
“Though we were not as competitive as we have been with UVA and N.C. State, there is no give up in this team and today was awesome,” head swimming coach Rich DeSelm said. Keeping team morale and intensity at a fever pitch is crucial heading into ACC play.
DeSelm cited energy and purpose as two keys he preached to his team before the match to maintain intensity during the difficult stretch. DeSelm knows his players may bend but won’t break, because if they did, he wouldn’t have recruited them in the first place.
“We recruit great young men and women who love UNC, who want to come and be a member of the team, who focus on academics, and step up and face competition with all their might and everything they got,” DeSelm said.
Even in a losing effort, great showings from first-year Grace Countie and sophomore Alvin Jiang gave the Tar Heels cause for hope. They each placed first in the 100-yard backstroke in their respective races.
Jiang, who has been a star this season, continues to win races and keep his team in every meet. The Texas native took DeSelm’s message to heart and ground out the entire race despite the physical toll of swimming in multiple races catching up to him in the demanding 100-yard backstroke.
“Past halfway, I was like, 'Damn, this kind of hurts.' I just had to push through and get the job done,” said Jiang, whose time of 47.85 was nearly a full second faster than the second-place finisher (48.66).
Countie, who has already made a name for herself in her first year at the collegiate level, is enjoying the rigors of conference play.
