Carolina Heads Back to ACC Championships For Men's Swimming

Wednesday, February 27

Greensboro, N.C.

All Day

North Carolina

ACC Championships (Men's Swimming)

Photo by: Barron Northrup

February 26, 2019 | Swimming & Diving

Live Results Schedule ACC Championship Central

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The North Carolina swimming & diving program returns to the Greensboro Aquatic Center on Wednesday for the 41st annual Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Swimming and Diving Championships from Wednesday, February 27 through Saturday, March 2 in Greensboro, N.C. The men's swimming events are slated for 4 p.m. on Wednesday with only the 200-yard medley and 800-yard freestyle relays that evening. For the remainder of the competition, prelims are set for 10 a.m. and the finals for 6 p.m.

"We're very excited to get going tomorrow afternoon," head coach Rich DeSelm said. "This has been a great group of men to work with this year. We're pretty battle-tested and now the ACC Championship is an incredibly fast, competitive meet. We're really looking forward to it. Last year was a bit of a challenge in terms of team finish and we know it's going to be challenging to be among the top teams, but we're over here to swim fast, to have a great experience and to be together. Hopefully we surprise ourselves, but every swim matters and every scoring performance is valuable to the team."

Starting off with a team score of 78 points from the men's diving events, 19 swimmers will represent UNC at part two of the ACC Swimming & Diving Championships. Five Tar Heels hold eight top-24 times in the ACC including four performances that rank among the top eight in the conference.

Sophomore Alvin Jiang currently holds the seventh-best 100-yard backstroke time (46.64) in the ACC and the eighth-best 100-yard fly time (46.73).

In the men's 100-yard breaststroke, both sophomore Valdas Abaliksta and freshman Sterling Smith have a chance to make the championship final as Abaliksta ranks fourth (53.30) in the conference and Smith seventh (53.98).

*ACC rankings based off CollegeSwimming.com.

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow @uncswimdive on Twitter to receive information as results are made available. Live results will also be available online. A meet recap and results will be posted on GoHeels.com following the completion of competition.

Live Streaming
ACC Network Extra will live stream action nightly on the final three days (Feb. 28-Mar. 2, 6:00 until 8:30 p.m.). Legendary swimming analyst Rowdy Gaines will again be on hand for coverage during the men's week of ACC swimming competition. A three-time Olympic Gold medalist and a member of the both the U.S. Swimming and International Swimming Hall of Fame, Gaines will complement the calls of veteran play-by-play announcer Dean Linke, who will return to the Greensboro Aquatic Center for the men's action .

Live Stream Links
Thursday | Friday | Saturday

Additional Info
Live Results | Schedule of Events (PDF) | Meet Notes (PDF) |
ACC Championship Central | ACC Weekly Release (PDF) |
ACC Women's Swimming & Diving Championship Results

UNC Men's Swimmers & Divers at 2019 ACC Championships
Valdas Abaliksta (So.) • Siauliai, Lithuania (Juliaus Janonio Gymnasium)
• Events: 50-Yard Free, 100-Yard Breast, 200-Yard Breast
Tom Bilden (Sr.) • Chapel Hill, N.C. (Carrboro)
• Events: 500-Yard Free, 100-Yard Fly, 200-Yard Fly
Thomas Bretzmann (Fr.) • Chapel Hill, N.C. (Chapel Hill)
• Events: 200-Yard Free, 500-Yard Free, 1650-Yard Free, 400-Yard IM
Greg Brocato (Jr.) • Ambler, Pa. (La Salle College)
• Events: 50-Yard Free, 100-Yard Free, 100-Yard Fly
Tucker Burhans (Fr.) • Clemmons, N.C. (West Forsyth)
• Events: 50-Yard Free, 100-Yard Free, 100-Yard Fly
Eli Coan (So.) • Clarkesville, Ga. (Veritas / Gardner Webb)
• Events: 50-Yard Free, 100-Yard Free, 100-Yard Fly
Patrick Cusick (Sr.) • Alpharetta, Ga. (Alpharetta)
• Events: 50-Yard Free, 100-Yard Back, 200-Yard Back, 100-Yard Fly, 200-Yard Fly
Dimitrios Dimitriou (So.) • Athens, Greece (Protypo Ahtinon)
• Events: 200-Yard Free, 500-Yard Free, 1650-Yard Free
Tyler Hill (So.) • Chappaqua, N.Y. (Horace Greeley)
• Events: 100-Yard Free, 100-Yard Back, 100-Yard Fly, 200-Yard IM
Alvin Jiang (So.) • Colleyville, Texas (Cistercian Preparatory School)
• Events: 50-Yard Free, 100-Yard Fly, 100-Yard Back
Daniel Koenigsperger (So.) • Auckland, New Zealand (Sacred Heart College)
• Events: 50-Yard Free, 100-Yard Free, 200-Yard Free, 500-Yard Free
Nick Loomis (Sr.) • St. Augustine, Fla. (St. Augustine)
• Events: 50-Yard Free, 100-Yard Fly, 200-Yard Fly
Jack Messenger (So.) • Raleigh, N.C. (Needham Broughton)
• Events: 50-Yard Free, 100-Yard Free, 200-Yard Free
Nick Palmer (So.) • Peachtree City, Ga. (Starr's Mill)
• Events: 200-Yard Free, 500-Yard Free, 1650-Yard Free
Jacob Rauch (Fr.) • Charlotte, N.C. (South Mecklenburg)
• Events: 100-Yard Breast, 200-Yard Breast, 200-Yard Back, 200-Yard IM
Austin Sellers (Sr.) • Tampa, Fla. (Jesuit)
• Events: 100-Yard Breast, 200-Yard Breast, 200-Yard IM
Sterling Smith (Fr.) • Silver Spring, Md. (DeMatha Catholic)
• Events: 50-Yard Free, 100-Yard Free, 100-Yard Breast
Tomas Sungaila (Fr.) • Kaunas, Lithuania (Jono Basanaviciaus Gimnazia)
• Events: 50-Yard Free, 100-Yard Free, 200-Yard Free
Chris Thames (So.) • Dunwoody, Ga. (Dunwoody)
• Events: 500-Yard Free, 100-Yard Back, 200-Yard Back

UNC Men's Divers at 2019 ACC Championships
Bryan Allen (Jr.) • San Jose, Calif. (Saint Teresa)
• Events: One-Meter, Three-Meter, Platform
Sean Burston (Sr.) • Stamford, Conn. (Westhill)
• Events: One-Meter, Three-Meter, Platform
Andrew Owsiany (Jr.) • Spring City, Pa. (The Episcopal Academy)
• Events: One-Meter, Three-Meter, Platform

UP NEXT: The day after North Carolina wraps up ACC competition, the Tar Heels will host their UNC Women's Last Chance meet on Sunday, March 3 to give student-athletes one more opportunity to swim NCAA qualifying times. The preliminary races will start at 10 a.m. with finals picking up at 5 p.m.