UNC swim & dive team sweeps UNCW in dual meet in Wilmington

The UNC men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams swept the UNCW Seahawks with a men’s score of 195-100 and a women’s score of 188-107.

What happened?

The men’s and women’s teams picked up their second dual meet victory of the season at David B. Allen Natatorium, boosting their dual meet record to 2-0 on the season. The Seahawks are now 1-4 for the season. 

The Tar Heels won 27 out of the total 32 events, and won each of the four diving events.

Who stood out?

Fifth-year senior Anton Down-Jenkins led the way for the men’s side of the diving competition, winning both the one and three-meter events with scores more than 20 points above the second-place finisher. On the women’s side, junior Aranza Vazquez had the same winning result in both events, earning a score of 367.20 on the three-meter event; this was more than 90 points higher than the second-place finisher. 

On the swim side, the men and women both split the relay events with UNCW, with the Tar Heels winning both the men’s and women’s 200-yard medley relay. 

Sophomore Nick Radkov placed first in both of his individual events, with wins in both the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle. Sophomore Dylan Citta also had a great meet, with two out of three of his individual events resulting in a victory (100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke). 

First-year Louis Dramm came away with two victories in both the 500-yard and 1,000-yard freestyle events. Dramm had a dominating win in the 1,000-yard, beating out UNCW sophomore Sam O’Brien by over three seconds.

The Tar Heels swept the butterfly, backstroke, and breaststroke individual events, with many events decided by more than a second. 

When was it decided?

UNC won the first two events of the meet, instilling momentum that the Tar Heels carried with them throughout the afternoon. Starting with the fourth event, North Carolina won 12 straight events, making it hard for the Seahawks to crawl back into the meet. Despite splitting the relay events with UNCW, the sweep of the butterfly, backstroke, and breaststroke events by both the men and the women helped secure the win for the Tar Heels. 

The olympic-athlete duo of Down-Jenkins and Vazquez completed the sweep of the diving events by noticeable margins, which carried the Tar Heels to victory. Their 36 combined points helped set UNC over the top.

Why does it matter?

This dual meet victory propelled the Tar Heels to a 2-0 start to the season, giving them plenty of momentum as they navigate the rest of the season. With ACC rivals N.C. State, Duke, and Virginia left to be faced this season, the Tar Heels have the ability to use this momentum to their advantage. 

The diving sweep sets up Down-Jenkins and Vazquez to have another dominating season, with both ACC Championships and NCAA Championships on their radar.

When do they play next?

The Tar Heels will travel back to Chapel Hill to take on the University of South Carolina Gamecocks in a dual-meet on November 5th. The meet will begin at 10 a.m. inside of Koury Natatorium.

@j_kidd03

@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com