University of North Carolina Athletics
Saturday, February 24
Greensboro, N.C.
10 a.m. prelims, 6 p.m. finals
North Carolina
vs
ACC Championships (Men's Swimming)
Senior Michael McBryan broke his own school record in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
McBryan Shatters School Record In 200 Breaststroke
February 24, 2018 | Swimming & Diving
Tar Heels finish eighth in ACC Championships.
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Michael McBryan broke his own school record in the 200-yard breaststroke Saturday night as the 65th annual Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Swimming and Diving Championships concluded at the Greensboro Aquatics Center.
McBryan led all scoring swims for the Tar Heels on the final day of competition as eight Tar Heels scored points in individual events and the 400-yard freestyle relay finished eighth.
"Michael has had a stellar career at UNC. Because of some other talented breaststrokers we've had, he has not always had the chance to swim the breaststroke leg of our medley relays. This week, Michael was stellar, swimming to new lifetime best times in both breaststrokes, swimming the 400 medley relay and, hopefully, securing an invitation to his first NCAA Championships. His leadership as a co-captain has been tremendous and we look forward to working with him to get ready for the meet in Minneapolis in a month," said UNC head swimming coach Rich DeSelm.
McBryan placed fifth in the 200-yard breaststroke after taking third in the 100-yard breaststroke on Friday. His time in the championship final was 1:54.66, breaking the school record he had set at last year's ACC Championships at 1:54.68.
"On behalf of our coaches and the underclassmen, I would like to thank our seniors for their outstanding contributions throughout their careers," said DeSelm. "They have shown tremendous leadership toward the foundations of our team – a commitment to academics, training, competition and building our team culture. Where we had opportunities, we swam well, with heart and with pride for UNC and for one another."
Carolina had two performers in "B" finals on Saturday. Freshman Valdas Abaliksta finished 15th in the 200-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:57.52 after going a career best 1:57.38 in the preliminaries. He is now the 10th fastest Tar Heel ever in the 200-yard breaststroke. Sophomore Bryan Allen took 12th place in 10-meter platform diving with a score of 278.40.
Freshman Chris Thames took home top honors in the "C" final of the 200-yard backstroke as he clocked a career best 1:43.46. That moves him into seventh place in Carolina history in the event.
UNC's 400-yard freestyle relay placed eighth with a time of 2:55.35. The relay included freshman Jack Messenger (44.64), senior J.T. Casey (43.16), freshman Alvin Jiang (44.00) and sophomore Greg Brocato (43.55).
Other Tar Heels who scored points on Saturday include senior Henry Campbell in the 1650-yard freestyle (20th, 15:15.56);Â sophomore Collier Cobb in the 200-yard butterfly (20th, 1:47.22);Â junior Patrick Cusick in the 200-yard backstroke (24th, 1:47.20); and junior Nick Loomis in the 200-yard butterfly (1:49.52).
"While we will miss having our seniors next season, we believe we will be a better team next year," said DeSelm. "Our returnees are motivated to help the team improve. Many of this year's freshmen played vital roles throughout the season and scored well at ACCs. We have a terrific group coming to school this fall. We have a lot of work to do but are also excited about the possibilities for the future."
FINAL TEAM SCORES
1. NC State 1457
2. Louisville 1170.5
3. Virginia 983.5
4. Notre Dame 941
5. Florida State 828.5
6. Virginia Tech 688.5
7. Duke 621
8. North Carolina 568
9. Georgia Tech 504
10. Pittsburgh 324
11. Boston College 137
12. Miami 94
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McBryan led all scoring swims for the Tar Heels on the final day of competition as eight Tar Heels scored points in individual events and the 400-yard freestyle relay finished eighth.
"Michael has had a stellar career at UNC. Because of some other talented breaststrokers we've had, he has not always had the chance to swim the breaststroke leg of our medley relays. This week, Michael was stellar, swimming to new lifetime best times in both breaststrokes, swimming the 400 medley relay and, hopefully, securing an invitation to his first NCAA Championships. His leadership as a co-captain has been tremendous and we look forward to working with him to get ready for the meet in Minneapolis in a month," said UNC head swimming coach Rich DeSelm.
McBryan placed fifth in the 200-yard breaststroke after taking third in the 100-yard breaststroke on Friday. His time in the championship final was 1:54.66, breaking the school record he had set at last year's ACC Championships at 1:54.68.
"On behalf of our coaches and the underclassmen, I would like to thank our seniors for their outstanding contributions throughout their careers," said DeSelm. "They have shown tremendous leadership toward the foundations of our team – a commitment to academics, training, competition and building our team culture. Where we had opportunities, we swam well, with heart and with pride for UNC and for one another."
Carolina had two performers in "B" finals on Saturday. Freshman Valdas Abaliksta finished 15th in the 200-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:57.52 after going a career best 1:57.38 in the preliminaries. He is now the 10th fastest Tar Heel ever in the 200-yard breaststroke. Sophomore Bryan Allen took 12th place in 10-meter platform diving with a score of 278.40.
Freshman Chris Thames took home top honors in the "C" final of the 200-yard backstroke as he clocked a career best 1:43.46. That moves him into seventh place in Carolina history in the event.
UNC's 400-yard freestyle relay placed eighth with a time of 2:55.35. The relay included freshman Jack Messenger (44.64), senior J.T. Casey (43.16), freshman Alvin Jiang (44.00) and sophomore Greg Brocato (43.55).
Other Tar Heels who scored points on Saturday include senior Henry Campbell in the 1650-yard freestyle (20th, 15:15.56);Â sophomore Collier Cobb in the 200-yard butterfly (20th, 1:47.22);Â junior Patrick Cusick in the 200-yard backstroke (24th, 1:47.20); and junior Nick Loomis in the 200-yard butterfly (1:49.52).
"While we will miss having our seniors next season, we believe we will be a better team next year," said DeSelm. "Our returnees are motivated to help the team improve. Many of this year's freshmen played vital roles throughout the season and scored well at ACCs. We have a terrific group coming to school this fall. We have a lot of work to do but are also excited about the possibilities for the future."
FINAL TEAM SCORES
1. NC State 1457
2. Louisville 1170.5
3. Virginia 983.5
4. Notre Dame 941
5. Florida State 828.5
6. Virginia Tech 688.5
7. Duke 621
8. North Carolina 568
9. Georgia Tech 504
10. Pittsburgh 324
11. Boston College 137
12. Miami 94
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Players Mentioned
Breast
/ Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Swimming & Diving
Free, Fly
/ Swimming & Diving
Distance Free/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Sprint Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Free, Fly
/ Swimming & Diving
Back/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Sprint Free, Fly, Back
/ Swimming & Diving
Butterfly, Sprint Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Breast/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Sprint Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Back
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