University of North Carolina Athletics
Baldwin took second place in the 100 back at the 2018 ACC meet.
GoHeels Exclusive: Baldwin Can't Be Ignored
March 13, 2018 | Swimming & Diving, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
It began with disappointment.
Two years ago, Caroline Baldwin, then a sophomore on the North Carolina women's swimming team, received bids for three individual events at the 2016 NCAA Division I Championships in Atlanta. She also qualified for the Championships in four relays.
But although she found some success in the relays, earning honorable mention All-America honors for the second straight season, her 30th-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke marked her best among the individual events.
The results didn't meet Baldwin's personal goals. So at one point, she turned to assistant coach Duncan Sherrard and made a promise.
"I never want to feel like this again at NCAAs," she said then. "I want to be able to come in and make a name for myself nationally and have people looking out for UNC."
Now a senior, Baldwin can't be ignored. And after earning first-team All-America honors in the 50-yard freestyle last season, she figures to contend for a medal in at least one of three individual events she'll be competing in at NCAA nationals, which begin Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio.
Yet this might not have seemed possible just a few years ago.
Growing up in Westfield, New Jersey, Baldwin said she competed in just about anything with her brothers – Sam, an alumnus of Miami University of Ohio, and Charlie, currently a freshman in college. They spent many hours playing soccer or lacrosse. But Baldwin eventually found swimming.
She went on to win nine state championships in club swimming and was awarded New Jersey swimmer of the year honors in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Yet she initially wasn't sure if she wanted to swim for four years in college.
"I was from a small club team where not a lot of people swam all four years, or they went to a smaller (Division III) college," Baldwin said. "I kind of looked for somewhere where I could fit in with the normal students if I did stop swimming."
UNC, a few hours away from her grandparents in Charlotte, met that standard. But the chance to face Division I competition made her decision to swim all four years an easy one.
Adjusting to the college level, however, proved much more trying.
In high school, Baldwin said she never went through two-a-day practices. She also rarely lifted weights. But with her transition to college came 6 a.m. practices that were followed by weightlifting sessions and then another practice.
"The beginning of my freshman year, I think I was exhausted the whole time and just kind of in a daze," she said. "I remember calling my parents and being like, 'Mom, this is so hard. I've never done anything like this.'"
Even then, Baldwin persevered.
She found inspiration in Sarah Hitchens and Hellen Moffitt, among others. Her parents and coaches provided support. And after her breakout junior season, she won two teams awards – the Richard E. Jamerson Memorial Award as the most improved swimmer and the Andrea Erben Memorial Award as the squad's most dedicated performer.
The honors didn't stop there. Behind a strong performance at the U.S. Swimming Phillips 66 National Championships last June, Baldwin joinedMoffitt on the U.S. roster for the World University Games (WUG), held last August in Taipei City, Taiwan.
At the WUG, long regarded as a springboard to international success, Baldwin won a gold medal in the 50-meter freestyle. She also swam the anchor leg on the U.S.'s 400-meter medley relay team, which claimed a silver medal, and led off the bronze medal-winning 400-meter freestyle relay.
"It was extremely humbling," she said. "Just being able to put the cap on with the American flag and your last name and stepping on the block knowing that you're racing for something bigger than yourself, it's kind of like swimming with the UNC logo on your cap but just a step higher."
Baldwin has since continued building off her performance at the WUG as a senior.
For the second straight season, she placed second in the 50-yard freestyle at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships in February. She also finished second in the 100-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke. Entering NCAA nationals, her top times in the 100-yard freestyle and 50-yard freestyle rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in the country this season.
But perhaps her most vital contribution has been her leadership.
The women's swimming and diving team featured 20 underclassmen, including 12 freshmen, and only 11 upperclassmen this season. In her second season as a co-captain, Baldwin attempted to provide her younger teammates the sort of guidance she received from Hitchens and Moffitt.
"They came in ready to just jump in, which definitely helped a lot," Baldwin said. "I'm so proud of all the freshmen and how they grew from the beginning. Honestly, they didn't really act like freshmen toward the end of the year. They understood their roles on the team and understood that they were a really, really important part to our postseason."
This time last year, Baldwin, an exercise and sport science major, expected she'd stop swimming after her senior season. But she gradually considered a professional swimming career. And being around several postgraduate swimmers at the WUG, she realized she could compete with them.
She's currently hoping to qualify for the Pan Pacific Championships, which she can do with a strong showing at the 2018 U.S. Swimming Phillips 66 National Championships, scheduled for July 25-29 in Irvine, California. But NCAA nationals come first.
"I love the sport and I love racing and seeing how hard work pays off," Baldwin said. "And the day I stop having fun with the sport and the day I stop looking forward to going to practice with some of my best friends and going through those ups and downs together is the day I think I know I'm going to be done and ready for the next chapter of my life."
Until then, she'll keep her promise and strive to become nationally known.
It began with disappointment.
Two years ago, Caroline Baldwin, then a sophomore on the North Carolina women's swimming team, received bids for three individual events at the 2016 NCAA Division I Championships in Atlanta. She also qualified for the Championships in four relays.
But although she found some success in the relays, earning honorable mention All-America honors for the second straight season, her 30th-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke marked her best among the individual events.
The results didn't meet Baldwin's personal goals. So at one point, she turned to assistant coach Duncan Sherrard and made a promise.
"I never want to feel like this again at NCAAs," she said then. "I want to be able to come in and make a name for myself nationally and have people looking out for UNC."
Now a senior, Baldwin can't be ignored. And after earning first-team All-America honors in the 50-yard freestyle last season, she figures to contend for a medal in at least one of three individual events she'll be competing in at NCAA nationals, which begin Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio.
Yet this might not have seemed possible just a few years ago.
Growing up in Westfield, New Jersey, Baldwin said she competed in just about anything with her brothers – Sam, an alumnus of Miami University of Ohio, and Charlie, currently a freshman in college. They spent many hours playing soccer or lacrosse. But Baldwin eventually found swimming.
She went on to win nine state championships in club swimming and was awarded New Jersey swimmer of the year honors in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Yet she initially wasn't sure if she wanted to swim for four years in college.
"I was from a small club team where not a lot of people swam all four years, or they went to a smaller (Division III) college," Baldwin said. "I kind of looked for somewhere where I could fit in with the normal students if I did stop swimming."
UNC, a few hours away from her grandparents in Charlotte, met that standard. But the chance to face Division I competition made her decision to swim all four years an easy one.
Adjusting to the college level, however, proved much more trying.
In high school, Baldwin said she never went through two-a-day practices. She also rarely lifted weights. But with her transition to college came 6 a.m. practices that were followed by weightlifting sessions and then another practice.
"The beginning of my freshman year, I think I was exhausted the whole time and just kind of in a daze," she said. "I remember calling my parents and being like, 'Mom, this is so hard. I've never done anything like this.'"
Even then, Baldwin persevered.
She found inspiration in Sarah Hitchens and Hellen Moffitt, among others. Her parents and coaches provided support. And after her breakout junior season, she won two teams awards – the Richard E. Jamerson Memorial Award as the most improved swimmer and the Andrea Erben Memorial Award as the squad's most dedicated performer.
The honors didn't stop there. Behind a strong performance at the U.S. Swimming Phillips 66 National Championships last June, Baldwin joinedMoffitt on the U.S. roster for the World University Games (WUG), held last August in Taipei City, Taiwan.
At the WUG, long regarded as a springboard to international success, Baldwin won a gold medal in the 50-meter freestyle. She also swam the anchor leg on the U.S.'s 400-meter medley relay team, which claimed a silver medal, and led off the bronze medal-winning 400-meter freestyle relay.
"It was extremely humbling," she said. "Just being able to put the cap on with the American flag and your last name and stepping on the block knowing that you're racing for something bigger than yourself, it's kind of like swimming with the UNC logo on your cap but just a step higher."
Baldwin has since continued building off her performance at the WUG as a senior.
For the second straight season, she placed second in the 50-yard freestyle at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships in February. She also finished second in the 100-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke. Entering NCAA nationals, her top times in the 100-yard freestyle and 50-yard freestyle rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in the country this season.
But perhaps her most vital contribution has been her leadership.
The women's swimming and diving team featured 20 underclassmen, including 12 freshmen, and only 11 upperclassmen this season. In her second season as a co-captain, Baldwin attempted to provide her younger teammates the sort of guidance she received from Hitchens and Moffitt.
"They came in ready to just jump in, which definitely helped a lot," Baldwin said. "I'm so proud of all the freshmen and how they grew from the beginning. Honestly, they didn't really act like freshmen toward the end of the year. They understood their roles on the team and understood that they were a really, really important part to our postseason."
This time last year, Baldwin, an exercise and sport science major, expected she'd stop swimming after her senior season. But she gradually considered a professional swimming career. And being around several postgraduate swimmers at the WUG, she realized she could compete with them.
She's currently hoping to qualify for the Pan Pacific Championships, which she can do with a strong showing at the 2018 U.S. Swimming Phillips 66 National Championships, scheduled for July 25-29 in Irvine, California. But NCAA nationals come first.
"I love the sport and I love racing and seeing how hard work pays off," Baldwin said. "And the day I stop having fun with the sport and the day I stop looking forward to going to practice with some of my best friends and going through those ups and downs together is the day I think I know I'm going to be done and ready for the next chapter of my life."
Until then, she'll keep her promise and strive to become nationally known.
Players Mentioned
Back/Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Back/Sprint Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Back/Fly
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