University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Nike Cup Preliminaries
Carolina Advances 20 Swimmers to Nike Cup Championship Finals Thursday
November 18, 2010 | Swimming & Diving
Nov. 18, 2010
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of North Carolina men's and women's swimming teams opened Thursday morning's 2010 Janis Hape Dowd Nike Cup preliminaries in fine form, posting record breaking performances in the very first event. Altogether, 20 Tar Heel swimmers advanced to championship finals Thursday night at 6 p.m. in the 500 free, 200 IM and 50 free.
In the opening event, the women's 500 free prelims, Carolina qualified seven swimmers for tonight's finals, led by freshman Stephanie Peacock, whose 4:39.95 time broke former Tar Heel swimmer Whitney Sprague's Nike Cup record by over a second. Seniors Katura Harvey (4:44.38) and Ashley Miller (4:48.14) join Peacock in tonight's championship final. Meanwhile, the consolation final boasts four Tar Heel swimmers including sophomore Stephanie Eisenring (4:55.02), freshman Emily Kelly (4:55.46), sophomore Jackie Rudolph (4:56.01) and junior Katelyn Martin (4:58.18).
In the men's 500 free prelims, three Tar Heels placed in the top five overall to earn championship finals spots. Seniors Joe Kinderwater (4:24.94), Tyler Harris (4:27.49) and junior Wil Singley (4:28.48) are seeded 2nd, 3rd and 5th, respectively, in tonight's championship finals, while junior Sean Lane (4:29.61), sophomore Tom Luchsinger (4:31.91), and freshmen Dan O'Connor (4:32.08), Evan Virtue (4:32.83), Patrick Ceddia (4:33.99), and J.T. Stilley (4:34.02) all posted Top 16 times good for consolation finals berths. Junior Evan Reed (4:35.56) and freshman Alex Gianino (4:36.35) also swam well enough to earn spots in the bonus consolation finals tonight.
The women's 200 IM prelims witnessed record breaking swims as well, with junior Layne Brodie (1:59.03) knocking down a nine-year old Nike Cup record held by former Tar Heel Katie Hathaway. Juniors Sarah Tanner (2:01.45) and Marie Pesacreta (2:02.85), along with sophomore Rebecca Brooks (2:03.44), will join Brodie in the finals tonight. Juniors Katie Keel (2:07.73) and Laura Ruscoe (2:09.02) also posted impressive performances good for spots in the consolation finals and bonus consolation finals, respectively.
The men's 200 IM was equally exciting, as senior Vinny Pryor posted the top overall time with his 1:50.75 performance. Junior Colin Bridier (1:51.62) and senior Tyler Harris (1:51.63) will join him in the championship finals. Seniors Flynn Jones (1:52.52) and Andy Brake (1:53.52) earned consolation final bids, while junior Jim Flannery (1:56.51) will swim in the bonus consolation finals tonight.
In the women's 50 free, Carolina placed four swimmers in both the championship finals and consolation finals. Tar Heels senior Rebecca Kane (22.57), freshman Danielle Jansen (23.45), Brodie (23.07), and Tanner (23.61) earned championship final nods, while juniors Sarah List (23.89) and Candace Cooper (23.91), sophomore Katie Nolan (23.92), and Eisenring (23.84) will represent Carolina in the consolation finals. Meanwhile, juniors Amber Leiker (24.30) and Keel (24.23) will swim for UNC in the bonus consolation finals tonight.
Tar Heel junior Steve Cebertowicz earned the top seed in the 50 freestyle tonight as he swam a season best 20.23 seconds in the prelims. Two other Tar Heel juniors join Ceberttowicz in the championship final as Brad Hamilton qualified fifth and Brock Park sixth at 20.62 and 20.70, respectively. Evan Reed qualified for the consolation final while four Tar Heels are in the bonus consolation heat. Tonight's final session will begin at 6 p.m. Live results will be available on TarHeelBlue.com.
Players Mentioned
