Carolina Starts Strong At GT Invitational

Friday, November 22

Atlanta, Ga.

All Day

North Carolina

Georgia Tech Invitational

Grace Countie was a winner in the 50 free and the 400 medley relay on Friday.

Photo by: Baird Photography

November 22, 2019 | Swimming & Diving

Friday Results Saturday Heat Sheets

ATLANTA --- Grace Countie and Emma Cole went 1-2 in the women's 50 freestyle and the women's 400 medley relay was first to the wall to highlight a strong opening night for the North Carolina swimming and diving teams Friday at the 2019 Georgia Tech Invitational at the McAuley Aquatic Center. The Carolina women scored 332 points on day one to sit in second place overall, behind only No. 1-ranked Florida. Dimitrios Dimitriou's runner-up showing in the men's 500 free was the top performance for the Tar Heel men, who are in fourth after one day of competition.

"Today was a great day," head coach Mark Gangloff said. "I'm very proud of our team for the way they performed against some very good teams. It is nice to see many of our athletes being their best in November which bodes well for the rest of the season. Grace Countie, Emma Cole and Dimitrios Dimitriou along with many others had some spectacular swims."

In addition to their personal-best performances in the 50 free, Countie and Cole also helped power a pair of strong Tar Heel relays. They teamed with Caroline Hauder and Heidi Lowe to take second in the 200 free relay in 1:28.46 to start the evening session before combining with Hauder and Allie Reiter to win the 400 medley relay in 3:32.11, the top time in the country so far this season. Both relay times met the NCAA B standard, as did their swims in the 50 free. Countie's 22.13 moves her into fifth nationally this year, while Cole's 22.21 is good for ninth.

Other Tar Heel women who advanced to A finals on Friday were Bryanna Cameron (200 IM and 500 free), Brooke Perrotta (200 IM) and Hauder (200 IM). Perrotta took fourth in the 200 IM with a PR of 1:59.39, while Hauder's time of 1:58.42 in the prelims is good for seventh-best nationally.

On the men's side, Dimitriou's PR of 4:18.45 was good for second in the 500 free and is the fifth-fastest time in the country so far this year. He was joined in the 500 free A final by Thomas Bretzmann, who took ninth. Tyler Hill went 1:47.31 in the 200 IM to finish fourth, while both relays posted top-10 finishes. Hill, Tucker Burhans, Valdas Abaliksta and Jack Messenger swam 3:10.14 in the 400 medley relay to place third.

Carolina divers also saw their share of success on the day, with a total of six Tar Heels placing in the top 10. Emily Grund led four Carolina women on the 1-meter springboard, taking second with a score of 287.50 in the finals. She was joined in the finals by Gracyn Segard (eighth), Paige Burrell (ninth) and Emma McPeeters (10th). Alex Hart (fourth) and Andrew Owsiany (sixth) led the Carolina men on the 3-meter springboard.

Action resumes Saturday with prelims starting at 10 a.m. Live coverage will be stream on ACC Network Extra.