In first meet under new head coach Mark Gangloff, UNC swimming and diving sweeps ECU

Smiles shined on the faces of the UNC swimming and diving team as the athletes prepared to compete in their first meet of the season against East Carolina on Friday. A new year wasn't the only reason behind their optimism, though.

The dual meet was also their first under Mark Gangloff, a former associate head coach at the University of Missouri. UNC announced Gangloff's hire in May after previous head coach Rich DeSelm stepped down amid health concerns.

The first meet under Gangloff proved a success, as the UNC women's team won 170-115 and the men's team won 157-143. 

“There is some anxiety when you do your first, leading your first head coaching experience,” Gangloff said. “I looked at our team, and they come so far since I’ve been here that I was just proud of them. Their effort today — a little nervous, but we got through it.” 

The UNC women’s team exploded from the start. In the first event, the women’s 200-yard medley relay, UNC’s Sophie Lindner, Emma Cole, Allie Reiter and Brooke Bauer secured first place with a 1:42.15 finish.  Right behind them was UNC’s team of Heidi Lowe, Ellie VanNote, Lilly Higgs and Amy Dragelin, which finished in 1:44.61.  North Carolina took a 15-2 lead after the first event and never looked back.  

The women went on to finish first in 12 of 16 events, making sure to encourage each other along the way.

“While I was swimming my 200 freestyle, at one point I just look over and you see your teammates jumping up and going crazy,” Cole said. “It’s kinda like that extra push to get you through the last 50, which hurts the most.”

Cole attributed the team's enthusiasm to the arrival of Gangloff.

“Mark has come in and he has kinda laid out a lot of new frame works for us, and raised the expectations and challenged us to meet those new expectations," Cole said. "(That's) challenged us building our team culture, which has been hard." 

While the women's team dominated from the start, the men faced more of a challenge against the Pirates. The dual came down to the last event of the day, the 400-yard freestyle relay, with UNC only leading ECU by five points, 144-139. 

With the meet on the line, North Carolina’s team of Jack Messenger, Tomas Sungaila, Tucker Burhans and Daniel Koenigsperger completed the relay for a time of 3:00.51, securing an 11-point first place finish. Less than a second after Koenigsperger touched the wall, one of the Pirates' three teams finished second to grab four points, followed by a 2-point third place from the Tar Heels' other team. 

The strong finish allowed UNC to hold on and win, 157-143.

As the end of the relay neared, fans were on their feet, cheering and trying to get the best view of the teams. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels lined the side of the pool, rooting for their teammates. It paid off — and junior Tyler Hill again attributed the enthusiasm to Gangloff.

“There is a lot of pressure having a new coach, and there is a lot of change that comes with that. But embracing that and believing in the new system is something important,” Hill said. “I’m hoping that we can all just believe, in each other and the coaches, and use that to push us forward.” 

With his first win as a head coach in the books, Gangloff is optimistic for the rest of the Tar Heels' season.

“My main goal for the year is to stay together as a group, and as a family,” Gangloff said. “We are able to support each other, race hard and compete at a high level in terms of our intensity and our intention, that will represent a really great season for us this year.“

@TorreNetkovick

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