Carolina Edges Into Third Place At ACC Championships
February 23, 2006 | Swimming & Diving
Feb. 23, 2006
Complete Results
Feb. 23, 2006
COLLEGE PARK, MD. - Led by performances by Hank Browning and Ryan Funderburk who earned places on the the medals podium, the North Carolina men's swimming and diving team moved from a tie for fourth place into sole possession of third place after the second day of the 2006 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Swimming & Diving Championships. This year's meet is being held at the Campus Recreation Center Natatorium on the University of Maryland campus.
Carolina was able to move into third place despite the fact they had only 10 finals entries Thursday night -- four in the championship final and six in the consolation final -- out of their 17 competitors who saw action Thursday. Three UNC swimmers will not swim their first events of the meet until Friday as those individuals are swimming double events either Friday or Saturday.
The standout performances Thursday came from freshman Hank Browning and sophomore Ryan Funderburk. Browning swam his career best time to take third place in the 500-yard freestyle and Funderburk earned a second-place finish in one-meter diving.
Carolina's other two finalists -- Jon Fox and Chad Ames -- finished fourth in one-meter diving and eighth in the 200-yard individual medley, respectively.
Florida State, which is seeking its first ACC title in history, leads after the opening day with 237 points. Virginia, which has won seven ACC titles in a row, is second with 217 points.
The third through eighth spots in the team standings are separated by only 48 points. Carolina is third with 164.5, Georgia Tech is fourth with 158.5, NC State is fifth with 145, Clemson is sixth with 141.5, Virginia Tech is seventh with 126 and Maryland is eighth with 118.5 points. The remainder of the field has Duke in ninth with 54, Boston College in 10th with 42 and Miami in 11th with 20.
In the opening event of the evening, Browning, a freshman from Cincinnati, Ohio, took third place honors in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:20.36. Browning's time was 5.17 seconds faster than his time in the event when he entered Carolina last fall.
Three Tar Heels qualified for the consolation final of the 500-yard freestyle. Sophomore Brandon Suddreth blistered his previous career best by 5.41 seconds as he took 11th place in 4:27.45. Freshman Yi-Khy Saw placed 13th in his career best time of 4:27.63 which was 1.97 seconds better than his top high school time. Sophomore Philip Owen placed 14th as he made the consolation final for the second straight year. He clocked a 4:29.64 in finals after going 4:28.73 in the prelims.
UNC had only one finalist in the 200-yard individual medley with senior Chad Ames taking eighth in 1:51.66 (prelims time of 1:50.13). This is the second straight year Ames placed eighth in the event.
North Carolina had three consolation finalists in the 50-yard freestyle with sophomore Zach Swartz tying for 10th place at 20.54 after going a career best 20.44 in the prelims. Sophomore John Sands place 14th in 20.64 and sophomore Rob Swendiman was 16th in 20.80. Swendiman had a career best 20.67 in the prelims of the event.
The Tar Heels scored 32 points of the 106.5 points they scored Thursday in the one-meter diving competition. Funderburk and Fox both scored their career highs on the one-meter board with scored of 345.85 and 325.20, good for second and fourth places.
In the final event of the evening, North Carolina finished seventh in a time of 1:21.47. The relay included junior Casey Kott (20.70), Zach Swartz (20.24), John Sands (20.19) and Rob Swendiman (20.34).
The competition continues Friday at 11 a.m. with preliminaries in the 400-yard individual medley, the 100-yard butterfly, the 200-yard freestyle, the 100-yard breaststroke and the 100-yard backstroke. Tomorrow's 7 p.m. finals session will include those five events plus the finals of three-meter diving and the timed final of the 400-yard medley relay.
Players Mentioned
