University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
ACC Men's Championships Finals
Peterson Captures ACC Championship In 1650-Yard Freestyle
February 27, 2010 | Swimming & Diving
Feb. 27, 2010
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Junior Chip Peterson's title-winning swim in the 1650-yard freestyle highlighted the Tar Heel men's swimming and diving team's effort Saturday night at the final session of the 2010 ACC Championships at Koury Natatorium.
Joe Kinderwater in the 1650-yard freestyle, Tommy Wyher in the 200-yard backstroke, Steve Cebertowicz in the 100-yard freestyle, Tyler Harris in the 200-yard breaststroke, Tom Luchsinger in the 200-yard butterfly and the 400-yard freestyle relay all had second-place finishes to power a strong night of swimming for the Tar Heels.
The Tar Heels finished in second place with a score of 656.6 points. The last time the Carolina men's swimming and diving team scored more than 600 points in the ACC Championships was in 2000 when it scored 662.5 points, marking this as its best championship meet performance in 10 years. Virginia repeated as the ACC champion and Florida State and Virginia Tech followed the Tar Heels in third and fourth place, respectively.
"I was thrilled with how we performed tonight," said UNC head coach Rich DeSelm. "I really liked how we rallied tonight, it was a very fun night and we got great results.
"We have had a tremendous season so far with a great dual meet record," said DeSelm. "We really closed the gap this year in the ACC and moved up a place at the conference championship. We had consistent performances throughout the year which led to a great ACC meet."
The first event of the night was the 1650-yard freestyle where UNC had two swimmers in the championship heat. Juniors Joe Kinderwater and Chip Peterson were seeded second and third, respectively, based on their top 1000-yard freestyle times from the regular season. Peterson went a career best time when he flipped at the 1000-yard mark with a time of 8:55.14. That time also broke teammate Joe Kinderwater's previous school record of 8:56.28 and the pool record of 8:57.84. Peterson went on to win the event, claiming his first-ever ACC individual title with a NCAA automatic qualifying time of 14:49.36.
"This was a long-deserved win that I have been training for for years," said Peterson. "And it finally came true."
In the late going, Kinderwater passed Virginia's defending champion Matt McLean to touch in second place with a time of 14:53.14, a NCAA "B" qualifying time. Sophomore Wil Singley placed 11th in the event with a time of 15:28.68.
"I am so happy. Tonight was definitely the best night and to finish on top is amazing," said Kinderwater. "We are getting closer and closer to being number one and one day soon we are going to do it."
"Chip has sacrificed a lot and been through things many people have not had to deal with, so it was great to see him shine tonight," said DeSelm. "We talked about relying on their training, believing in themselves and not getting distracted. So as a coach, it was nice to see them execute what we practiced and go 1-2."
Junior Tommy Wyher was seeded first in the 200-yard backstroke going into finals after swimming a time of 1:43.11 in the morning session. In the championship final, Wyher came in second to the defending champion, Andy Hodgson from Florida State. Wyher touched in a time of 1:42.65, just 25 one-hundredths of a second off his career best. Junior Josh Hafkin competed in the bonus exhibition heat of the 200-backstroke. Hafkin finished in a time of 1:47.87, one second faster than his morning swim.
UNC had three swimmers in the championship heat of the 100-yard freestyle. Sophomore Steve Cebertowicz was seeded third with a time of 44.16, followed by sophomore Evan Reed in sixth with a time of 44.52 and senior Hank Browning in eighth with a time of 44.67.
All three Tar Heels improved on their places in the evening swim. Cebertowicz finished second in the event with a time of 43.42, breaking his own school record of 43.91, which he set last year when he placed 15th at the ACC Championship meet. Reed finished in fifth place with a NCAA "B" qualifying time of 44.29 and Browning was in seventh with a career best time of 44.59. Sophomore Brad Hamilton and senior Jeff James swam in the consolation heat of the 100 free. James finished 13th with a career best time of 45.54 and Hamilton touched in 15th place with a time of 45.63.
The Tar Heels had three more swimmers in a championship heat for the 200-yard breaststroke. Junior Tyler Harris swam a time of 1:57.85 in the prelim session placing him as the third seed going into finals. Junior Vinny Pryor was seeded seventh with a time of 1:59.50. Junior Flynn Jones, who just three years ago was a pure walk-on on the Carolina team, was seeded eighth, fulfilling a dream of making his first-ever ACC Championship final appearance. Jones swam a career best time in the morning of 1:59.73, which was his personal best time by over two seconds and a NCAA "B" qualifying time. Harris moved up two spots in the standings from last year's finish at ACCs, touching in second place with a time of 1:56.96, a NCAA "B" qualifying time. Pryor touched in sixth place for the second year in a row with a time of 1:58.42, a NCAA "B" qualifying time. Jones finished in eighth place with a time of 2:00.40.
Freshman Tom Luchsinger had a career best time of 1:45.93 in the morning session of the 200-yard butterfly, putting him as the third seed going into finals. The prelim time was over three seconds faster than Luchsinger's previous career best time of 1:49.26 in the event. In the final, Luchsinger turned in an electric swim and dropped over a second from his morning pace to place second in the championship heat with a time of 1:44.83, a NCAA "B" qualifying time that makes him the third fastest Tar Heel in history in the event. Senior Jason McLaughlin competed in the consolation final of the 200 butterfly, seeded second in that heat after his prelim swim of 1:47.66, a NCAA "B" qualifying time. McLaughlin placed 11th with a time of 1:48.26. Juniors Robert Grimmett-Norris and Andy Brake competed in the bonus exhibition heat of the 200-yard butterfly, going first and third. Brake touched in a time of 1:49.26 and Grimmett-Norris finished in a time of 1:50.51.
"I came in not knowing what to expect," said Luchsinger. "But to look up at the scoreboard and see second place is an incredible feeling I can't describe."
To finish out the meet, Steve Cebertowicz led off the 400-yard freestyle relay for the Tar Heels in a time of 43.85, his second best time ever. The remainder of the relay had Tommy Wyher splitting in 42.54, Hank Browning in 43.77 and Evan Reed in 43.79. UNC finished with a new UNC school record and a second-place finish with a time of 2:53.95, a NCAA "B" qualifying time. The Tar Heels finished first or second in all five relays during the championships. The old school record was 2:55.53 set by Reed, Cebertowicz, Hamilton and James.
Players Mentioned
