Geogia, buoyed by the return of several Olympians, swept North Carolina on the road today.
Women
Georgia 162.5, North Carolina 132.5
Men
Georgia 179, North Carolina 119
Georgia Press Release
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. --- The Georgia swimming and diving teams opened the 2016-17 season on Friday by sweeping North Carolina at the Maurice J. Koury Natatorium.
The Bulldogs recorded a 162.5-132.5 victory, while the Lady Bulldogs registered a 179-119 decision in their 15th straight season-opening win. Georgia’s program is now 42-4 all time (23-0 women, 19-4 men) against the Tar Heels under Coach Jack Bauerle.
"I was extremely pleased with the way we competed and performed today," Bauerle said. "They did a good job for the first meet. North Carolina always gives us a tough test and that's why we like racing them first. This meet always gives our kids a sense of focus."
Pace Clark joined Olympians Chase Kalisz, Jay Litherland and Javier Acevedo as double winners on Friday. Clark swept the 100 and 200 butterfly races in 48.37 and 1:47.03. Returning to Georgia after a redshirt season, Kalisz took the 200 freestyle in 1:36.60 and the 200 breaststroke in 1:56.08. Litherland had the meet’s fastest times in the 200 backstroke (1:46.33) and the 200 individual medley (1:49.73). Acevedo, in his Georgia debut, won the 100 freestyle in 45.11 and the 100 backstroke in 47.74.
Chris Powell reached the wall in 20.77 to take the 50 freestyle and Kevin Litherland won the 1,000 freestyle in 9:17.44. The 200 medley relay of Taylor Dale, Colin Monaghan, Clark and Acevedo stopped the clock first in 1:30.58.
For the Lady Bulldogs, Megan Kingsley picked up three victories – the 100 butterfly (53.07), the 200 butterfly (1:54.90) and the 200 individual medley (1:59.11).
Emily Cameron and Stephanie Peters each had two wins. Cameron swept the 100 and 200 breaststroke in 1:03.68 and 2:17.27, respectively. Peters won the 500 freestyle in 4:47.53 and the 1,000 freestyle in 9:46.55.
Olympian Chantal Van Landeghem returned from a redshirt campaign and won the 100 freestyle with a time of 49.96. Meaghan Raab claimed the 200 freestyle in 1:47.87 and Meryn McCann made her Georgia debut by taking the 200 backstroke in 1:57.87.
The 200 medley relay of Kylie Stewart, Cameron, Kingsley and Van Landeghem won with a time of 1:40.13.
Georgia will return to action Oct. 28 at Gabrielsen Natatorium when it entertains Florida at 11 a.m.
North Carolina Press Release
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina kicked off the 2016-17 dual meet season on Friday afternoon, taking on national powerhouse Georgia in Koury Natatorium. The Bulldogs swept the Tar Heels, defeating the women, 179-119, and the Tar Heel men fell, 162.5-132.5. The meet was highlighted by standout performances by the men’s and women’s divers, and winning swims by Craig Emslie, Jorden Merrilees, Hellen Moffitt and Caroline Baldwin.
“I think the takeaway is what we saw and what we competed against. We competed against a national championship winning women’s team and a Top 5 men’s program. Clearly we have some work to do to get to that level. But overall hats off to them,” said UNC head coach Rich DeSelm. “If you’re an observer of the sport you are going to see what champions do. And there are some Olympians on that team, some Olympic medalists, and I think it is good that we can race against them and really learn from them.”
The matchup proved to be an early test of conditioning for the Tar Heels, as the Georgia women captured their seventh national title in 2016, while the men’s team placed fifth at the NCAA Championships.
The UNC men placed first in five events, while the women’s team earned the top spot in four events.
The women’s team began the home opener with a second-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay, clocking in at 1:40.39. Georgia’s Chantal Van Landeghem narrowly outtouched Sarah Hitchens to take first place for the Bulldogs. UNC capped off the meet by winning the 400-yard medley in a time of 3:24.14 with Baldwin, Hitchens, Moffitt and Brooke Bauer swimming for North Carolina.
Moffitt, a captain of this year’s squad, got off to a fantastic senior campaign, as she notched a pair of Top 2 finishes for the Tar Heels. Moffitt earned a first-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 53.08. She also notched a second-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly, clocking in at 53.13 for UNC.
Baldwin was also a tremendous force in the pool for UNC, taking first place in the 50-yard freestyle (22.73) for the Tar Heels and placing fourth in the 100-yard free (51.05). Baldwin also was a key for the Tar Heels’ success in the relays, leading off both the 200-yard medley and 400-yard freestyle relays.
Junior diver Elissa Dawson had a fantastic start to the season on the boards for the Tar Heels, taking first place in both the one and three-meter diving competitions. She finished first in both events with scores of 304.95 and 352.05, respectively. Maria Lohman finished second in the one-meter diving competition for North Carolina with a score of 300.23.
On the men’s side, North Carolina began the competition with a third-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay. The Tar Heels clocked in at 1:32.11 with Heyward Harrison, Emslie, Michael Meyer and Greg Brocato swimming for the Tar Heels. The Tar Heel men concluded the meet with a first place finish in the 400-yard medley relay, touching the wall at 3:00.71. That relay include Merrilees, Emslie, Philip Perdue and Lucas Popp.
Sean Burston finished first in the one-meter diving competition for the Tar Heels, with a score of 361.05. Jack Nyquist posted a score of 343.05 to capture second place. On the three-meter boards, Nyquist took the top place for North Carolina with a score of 416.33.
Junior transfer Emslie got off to a fast start in his debut in the pool as a Tar Heel, earning first place in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 55.58. Merrilees also had a successful first meet for UNC, placing first in the 500-yard freestyle (4:29.35) and second in the 200-yard free (1:37.15). Emslie is a transfer from Indian River State College in Florida while Merrilees is transfer from Oakland University.
“It was good day to be a Tar Heel as this was my first meet,” says Merrilees. “Coach (DeSelm) talked a lot about culture before the meet today and I think that means bringing a lot of energy into our training which will then carry over to our meets like it did today.”
“Moving forward we are going to race tomorrow in practice. We are going to clean up the splits, the relay turnarounds, and just see where we are as a group. They are going to come in this weekend and work,” says DeSelm.
North Carolina will return to the pool on Friday, Oct. 21-22, as the Tar Heels travel to Knoxville, Tenn., to take on the nationally-ranked Tennessee Volunteers in a two-day dual meet. Competition will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday and resume on Saturday morning at 10 a.m.
