University of North Carolina Athletics
Saturday, November 10
West Lafayette, Ind.
All Day
North Carolina
vs
ACC/Big Ten Challenge
Five Swimmers, Lohman to Represent Tar Heels in Inaugural ACC/Big Ten Challenge
November 9, 2018 | Swimming & Diving
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Earlier this season, the ACC and Big Ten conferences announced the inaugural ACC/Big Ten Challenge for collegiate swimming and diving. On November 10-11, the two conferences will compete in a short-course yards dual meet hosted by Purdue University in the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center in West Lafayette, Ind.
Junior Bryanna Cameron and freshman Grace Countie will swim in the weekend-long invitational while senior co-captain Maria Lohman is set to compete in the women's three-meter springboard diving competition.
Cameron set a new personal record in the 200 fly at the 2018 ACC Championships where she swam 1:57.17 in the A final to claim the eighth best mark all-time at UNC. Though new to the Carolina roster, Countie has already started making an impact for the Tar Heels. The Raleigh, N.C. native helped both 200 medley relays claim first place against East Carolina and South Carolina and she even claimed the 50 free title in the season opener.
Lohman hopes to continue her success on the boards at the inaugural invitational. During her junior season, Lohman moved up in the Carolina records to rank third all-time in both the one-meter (316.58) and three-meter (354.60) springboard competitions and now ranks seventh in Tar Heel history in platform diving.
On the men's side, three sophomores were selected to represent the ACC — Valdas Abaliksta, Alvin Jiang and Chris Thames. Jiang swam the fourth-fastest 100 back time in the NCAA so far this season after clocking 47.21 against South Carolina. Jiang also ranks fourth all-time at UNC in two individual events — 46.33 in the 100-yard backstroke and 46.59 in the 100-yard butterfly. Abaliksta ranks third all-time at UNC in the 100-yard breaststroke with his ACC prelim time of 53.12 and Thames is among the top ten times at Carolina in both backstroke events — third in the 200 back with a time of 1:41.68 and sixth in the 100 back with a time of 47.53.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Live results from swimming events can be found online and live diving scores can be found via DiveMeets.com. The two sessions will also be available for streaming through the following options:
SESSION 1
Saturday, Nov. 10 at 5 p.m. ET
PPV Webcast via BTN Plus on BTN2Go; Simulcast on FloSports and FloSwimming.com
SESSION 2
Sunday, Nov. 11 at 10 a.m. ET
Live on Big Ten Network, BTN2Go
PARTICIPANT SELECTION PROCESS
In a similar format to the successful 2016 College Challenge (versus USA Swimming), a running score will be kept throughout the dual meet competition combining the points earned by both women and men. Team scoring will be used to determine a winner of the All-Star meet. Meet scoring will mirror NCAA dual meet parameters.
Swimming students were determined using a similar selection process to that of the College Challenge, where at least two males and two females from each institution are designated to compete, but no more than five males and five females from each school will participate. Additionally, for diving students, there are no more than two males and two females from each school. Numbers may vary based on men's and women's swimming program membership, as well as selection to the All-Star team based on personal event times and diving results.
Each athlete may be entered in up to six events during the meet, including individual events and relays.
Junior Bryanna Cameron and freshman Grace Countie will swim in the weekend-long invitational while senior co-captain Maria Lohman is set to compete in the women's three-meter springboard diving competition.
Cameron set a new personal record in the 200 fly at the 2018 ACC Championships where she swam 1:57.17 in the A final to claim the eighth best mark all-time at UNC. Though new to the Carolina roster, Countie has already started making an impact for the Tar Heels. The Raleigh, N.C. native helped both 200 medley relays claim first place against East Carolina and South Carolina and she even claimed the 50 free title in the season opener.
Lohman hopes to continue her success on the boards at the inaugural invitational. During her junior season, Lohman moved up in the Carolina records to rank third all-time in both the one-meter (316.58) and three-meter (354.60) springboard competitions and now ranks seventh in Tar Heel history in platform diving.
On the men's side, three sophomores were selected to represent the ACC — Valdas Abaliksta, Alvin Jiang and Chris Thames. Jiang swam the fourth-fastest 100 back time in the NCAA so far this season after clocking 47.21 against South Carolina. Jiang also ranks fourth all-time at UNC in two individual events — 46.33 in the 100-yard backstroke and 46.59 in the 100-yard butterfly. Abaliksta ranks third all-time at UNC in the 100-yard breaststroke with his ACC prelim time of 53.12 and Thames is among the top ten times at Carolina in both backstroke events — third in the 200 back with a time of 1:41.68 and sixth in the 100 back with a time of 47.53.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Live results from swimming events can be found online and live diving scores can be found via DiveMeets.com. The two sessions will also be available for streaming through the following options:
SESSION 1
Saturday, Nov. 10 at 5 p.m. ET
PPV Webcast via BTN Plus on BTN2Go; Simulcast on FloSports and FloSwimming.com
SESSION 2
Sunday, Nov. 11 at 10 a.m. ET
Live on Big Ten Network, BTN2Go
PARTICIPANT SELECTION PROCESS
In a similar format to the successful 2016 College Challenge (versus USA Swimming), a running score will be kept throughout the dual meet competition combining the points earned by both women and men. Team scoring will be used to determine a winner of the All-Star meet. Meet scoring will mirror NCAA dual meet parameters.
Swimming students were determined using a similar selection process to that of the College Challenge, where at least two males and two females from each institution are designated to compete, but no more than five males and five females from each school will participate. Additionally, for diving students, there are no more than two males and two females from each school. Numbers may vary based on men's and women's swimming program membership, as well as selection to the All-Star team based on personal event times and diving results.
Each athlete may be entered in up to six events during the meet, including individual events and relays.
Players Mentioned
Breast
/ Swimming & Diving
Fly, IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Free, Back
/ Swimming & Diving
Sprint Free, Fly, Back
/ Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Swimming & Diving
Back
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