Tar Heel Swimming & Diving Excited To Host Longhorns Saturday

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of North Carolina men's and women's swimming and diving teams host their second home meet of the 2017-18 season this Saturday when they take on a duo of nationally-ranked University of Texas teams at 12 p.m. at Koury Natatorium in Chapel Hill. Admission is free.

"I think that our team is excited by a team of that caliber coming to town," states head swimming coach Rich DeSelm.

The Tar Heels are coming off a sweep against the Virginia Tech Hokies last Saturday. The 21st-ranked Tar Heel women's side beat the Hokies 178.5 to 121.5. The 22nd-ranked North Carolina men's team upset the 24th-ranked Hokies 166 to 134. The men improved to 1-2 on the year and the women to 2-1.

"Coming off last weekend is good momentum wise," exclaims DeSelm. "We did well and got a lot of positive reinforcement and learned a lot from Georgia to South Carolina to Virginia Tech and hopefully we can translate that to something better this weekend."

The ninth-ranked University of Texas men's team is 0-3 on the season, facing three teams in the top 15 in the country so far this season. The second-ranked Longhorn women are 3-0 on the season facing three opponents in the top 20.

DeSelm knows that the Longhorns will bring their best, "We absolutely respect the ability and talent that they bring but we are looking forward to racing. I think we will have some good races and there is a reason why you swim the meet. We are going to go after them as hard as we can."

The Tar Heels last met the Longhorns two years ago in Chapel Hill. The Longhorn men topped the Tar Heels 160 to 132 while the women claimed a tight 154 to 146 victory. That meet was held Friday, November 13, 2015 at Koury Natatorium.

"Their men are defending national champions and women are a Top 5 program," says DeSelm. "They will bring a lot of passion, energy, talent, fast swimming and great diving to the meet."

The men's side for the Heels comes off a win over a strong Virginia Tech team. Valdas Abaliksta and Alvin Jiang led the Tar Heels with two individual wins each. Abaliksta placed first in the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard breaststroke.

Jiang placed first in the 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard butterfly. Jiang's time of 46.83 seconds in the 100-yard backstroke put him at the top of the ACC in the event. Jiang was named ACC Swimmer of the Week for the week of Oct. 30- Nov. 5.

The Tar Heel women will look to continue their strong performances after last week's win against Virginia Tech in which the women placed first in 11 of the 16 events. Caroline Hauder led the Tar Heels with three individual wins, placing first in the 100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard breaststroke and 200-yard individual medley. Caroline Baldwin also picked up a duo of individual wins in the 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard freestyle. Baldwin's 100-yard backstroke time of 52.44 seconds gave her the top time in the ACC.

"It will be a good measuring stick to see where we need to be and where we are," diving coach Abel Sanchez said. I think they are going to be surprised as well and I think we have the tools to compete with them. It is going to be a good fight."

Against Virginia Tech, the diving contingent looked to back to full force with the return of Sean Burston and Greg Duncan. Burston had missed the previous meet at South Carolina due to injury while Duncan was out due to illness.

With a first-place finish on the three-meter board with a score of 358.65, Elissa Dawson earned the title ACC Diver of the Week for the week of Oct. 30- Nov. 5. Her score in the three-meter competition is the highest score of ACC divers so far this year.

The Longhorns are coming to North Carolina to not only face the Tar Heels but to compete against the N.C. State Wolfpack on Friday, Nov. 10, a day before they come to Chapel Hill. The Wolfpack men are currently ranked 6th and the women are ranked 13th. This will add another set of teams the Longhorns face in the Top 20 before they come to compete in Koury Natatorium.

The Tar Heels diving team has a quick turn around and will be back in action Thursday, Nov. 16 to Saturday, Nov. 18 at the Purdue Invitational in West Lafayette, Indiana. After a three-week break, the swimming team will travel to Knoxville, Tennessee to compete in the Tennessee Invitational on Thursday, Nov. 30 to Saturday, Dec. 1.

Live stats for this week's meet against Virginia Tech will be made available through GoHeels.com and on Twitter, @uncswimdive, shortly before the start of competition. A live broadcast will also be made available through GoHeels.com on the ACC Network Extra. Be sure to follow the Tar Heel swimmers and divers this Saturday and throughout the season.

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Players Mentioned

Caroline Baldwin

Sean Burston

Elissa Dawson

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