Tar Heels Fall to Longhorns

Saturday, November 11

Chapel Hill, N.C.

12:00 p.m.

North Carolina

Texas

Michael McBryan placed first in the 200-yard breaststroke against Texas on Saturday.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

November 11, 2017 | Swimming & Diving

Complete Results Photo Gallery

By: Posted by UNC Athletic Communications

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of North Carolina men's and women's swimming and diving teams fell to the University of Texas Longhorns Saturday afternoon at Koury Natatorium. The second-ranked Longhorn women topped the 21^st-ranked Tar Heel women by a score of 172 to 125. The ninth-ranked Longhorn men defeated the 22^nd-ranked Tar Heels with a score of 162 to 137.

"They [Texas] did a great job," said UNC head coach Rich DeSelm. "I felt like we gave away a few things. Last week we got the lead and when we got ahead it felt really good. This week we never really got the lead and I think we let that affect how we conducted ourselves and we have got to learn from that."

Caroline Baldwin continued her strong senior season with two individual wins. Baldwin placed first in both the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle in times of 22.13 seconds and 48.24 seconds, respectively. Both times were her season bests this year.

"We were able to see Caroline Baldwin in one or two different events. She swam a 50 freestyle in that was lightning fast," exclaimed DeSelm. "She actually broke the pool record in 100-free which is pretty remarkable because there have been some pretty awesome competitions in this pool."

Baldwin also led the Tar Heels to a relay victory. Baldwin, Caroline Hauder, Emma Cole and Maddie Smith placed first in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:39.07. The Tar Heels have been 4-0 in that event this season in dual meets. Sydney Baker also sported an individual win in the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:03.96.

The Tar Heel men's breaststroke swimmers looked strong today taking first, second and third in both the 100-yard and 200-yard events. Valdas Abaliksta placed first in the 100-yard with a time of 55.42 seconds followed by Michael McBryan at 55.67 seconds and Austin Sellers at 56.89. In the 200-yard breaststroke, McBryan placed first, Abaliksta second and Sellers third with times of 2:00.56, 2:01.73 and 2:03.05 respectively.

"We came in with a goal to go 1-2-3 in both of those events," said McBryan.

Other Tar Heel first place finishes came from Alvin Jiang and Henry Campbell. Jiang placed first in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 47.35. Campbell placed first in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:27.00.

On the diving side, the Tar Heels placed first in three of the four events. Diving coach Abel Sanchez was thrilled with his team's performance today.

"I'm really proud of our men and women," claimed Sanchez. "They've done a fabulous job. I'm a little speechless which is unusual."

Greg Duncan and Sean Burston had outstanding performances on the boards today. Duncan placed first in the one-meter, scoring 384.90 points. Burston scored 413.85 points to finish at the top of the leaderboard in the three-meter.

"That was huge for me," said Burston. "I was speechless when I saw the scores go up. That just shows me personally how much I've come along since freshman year and how much more I can improve."

Elissa Dawson finished first in the three-meter event and second in the one-meter competition. Dawson's score of 363.75 on the three-meter board was her personal best so far this year.

"Trying to beat myself this week is usually what I focus on," claimed Dawson.

The Tar Heel women fall to 2-2 and the men to 1-3. The diving contingent travels to Purdue next week for the Purdue Invitational from November 16-18. The swimming team has a few weeks off before they head to the Tennessee Invitational from November 30-December 2.

MEN'S TEAM SCORE: #22 NORTH CAROLINA 137, #9 TEXAS 162
TOP CAROLINA FINISHERS IN EACH EVENT—MEN
200-Yard Medley Relay: North Carolina (Alvin Jiang, Valdas Abaliksta, Nick Loomis, J. T. Casey), 2^nd place, 1:28.78
1000-Yard Freestyle: Nick Palmer, 3^rd place, 9:30.22
200-Yard Freestyle: Henry Campbell, 2^nd place, 1:38.40
100-Yard Backstroke: Alvin Jiang, 1^st place, 47.35
100-Yard Breaststroke: Valdas Abaliksta, 1^stplace, 55.42
200-Yard Butterfly: Thomas Bilden, 2^nd place, 1:50.44
50-Yard Freestyle: Jack Messenger, 4^th place, 20.75
One-Meter Diving: Greg Duncan, 1^st place, 384.90 points
100-Yard Freestyle: Jack Messenger & J.T. Casey, 3^rd place, 45.71
200-Yard Backstroke: Chris Thames, 4^th place, 1:49.31
200-Yard Breaststroke: Michael McBryan, 1^st place, 2:00.56
500-Yard Freestyle: Henry Campbell, 1^st place, 4:27.00
100-Yard Butterfly: Alvin Jiang, 2^nd place, 48.22
Three-Meter Diving: Sean Burston, 1^st place, 413.85 points
400-Yard Individual Medley: Noah Cairns, 2^nd place, 4:00.51
200-Yard Freestyle Relay: North Carolina (Valdas Abaliksta, J.T. Casey, Jack Messenger, Alvin Jiang), 2^nd place, 1:21.08
Records: North Carolina 1-3, Texas 1-4

WOMEN'S TEAM SCORE: #21 NORTH CAROLINA 125, #2 TEXAS 172
TOP CAROLINA FINISHERS IN EACH EVENT—WOMEN
200-Yard Medley Relay: North Carolina (Caroline Baldwin, Caroline Hauder, Emma Cole, Maddie Smith), 1^stplace, 1:39.07
1000-Yard Freestyle: Robyn Dryer, 2^nd place, 9:59.70
200-Yard Freestyle: Emma Cole, 3^rd place, 1:49.55
100-Yard Backstroke: Caroline Hauder, 2^nd place, 54.90
100-Yard Breaststroke: Brooke Perrotta, 2^nd place, 1:02.71
200-Yard Butterfly: Bryanna Cameron, 3^rd place, 1:59.52
50-Yard Freestyle: Caroline Baldwin, 1^st place, 22.13
Three-Meter Diving: Elissa Dawson, 1^st place, 363.75 points
100-Yard Freestyle: Caroline Baldwin, 1^st place, 48.24
200-Yard Backstroke: Emily Slabe, 4^th place, 2:01.16
200-Yard Breaststroke: Caroline Hauder, 2^nd place, 2:15.15
500-Yard Freestyle: Bryanna Cameron, 2^nd place, 4:54.42
100-Yard Butterfly: Zhada Fields, 4^th place, 56.01
One-Meter Diving: Elissa Dawson, 2^nd place, 321.75 points
200-Yard Individual Medley: Sydney Baker, 1^st place, 2:03.96
400-Yard Freestyle Relay: North Carolina (Caroline Baldwin, Emma Cole, Zhada Fields, Maddie Smith), 2^nd place, 3:19.21
Records: North Carolina 2-2, Texas 5-0