Abaliksta, Smith Lead Heels With Championship Final Performances

Friday, March 1

Greensboro, N.C.

All Day

North Carolina

ACC Championships (Men's Swimming)

Valdas Abaliksta

Photo by: Jake Pierce

Abaliksta, Smith Lead Heels With Championship Final Performances

March 1, 2019 | Swimming & Diving

Day 3 Prelim Results Day 3 Final Results

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Sophomore Valdas Abaliksta and freshman Sterling Smith led the Tar Heels on day three of the ACC Men's Swimming & Diving Championships with their championship A final performances.

"The men poured their hearts into today," head coach Rich DeSelm said. "It's a tough field and we got some people back into finals which we were really excited about. That was awesome getting both Valdas and Sterling in the 100 breast A final. I know both of them had some lifetime-best performances and we haven't had a lot of A finalists so that was terrific. We had some underclassman do well as well as some veterans. It's great to see them improving and hopefully they continue to make moves tomorrow. Tomorrow's the last day, a new day, and we've got some strong entries who are going to be coming in here together passionate and ready to finish this out."

Heading into conference meet, Abaliksta already held the No. 3 spot in Carolina's 100 breaststroke records, but his performances in both the ACC preliminaries and final inched him closer to that second-best time set by Michael McBryan (52.56) in 2018. The Lithuanian native swam 53.03 to secure his championship final appearance and later bested that career record with another, swimming 52.92 for seventh overall.

Smith, originally from Silver Spring, Md., followed right behind his teammate. As just a freshman, Smith placed eighth in his first-ever ACC championship final (53.64) and swam the fourth-best time in school history in the prelims (53.08).

Overall, the Tar Heels earned six spots in Carolina's all-time top 10 records between the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard breaststroke events.

Alvin Jiang, a sophomore from Colleyville, Texas, had an impressive showing in the men's 100 fly and 100 back competitions, qualifying for both consolation B finals. Jiang placed 12th in the 100 fly with a finals time of 46.37 after setting a new personal record and the third-best time at UNC of 46.22. He also finished in a tie for 12th place in the 100 back, hitting two more NCAA provisional times of 46.54 in the prelims and 46.49 in the final.

"Alvin's double in the 100 fly and 100 back is something he's used to, but it's no less challenging for any of the swimmers out there," DeSelm said. "Alvin took a lot on his shoulders today with two prelims, two finals and a relay and we're proud of him for his efforts."

Senior Nick Loomis and junior captain Greg Brocato also swam top-10 times for North Carolina swimming and diving. Loomis clocked 47.14 for the seventh spot in UNC history and Brocato edged out the 10th-fastest school record with his prelim performance of 47.34.

Joining Abaliksta and Smith in the 100 breaststroke records, freshman Jacob Rauch finished in 22nd in the C final (54.56) after claiming the 10th-best time in UNC history (54.47) in the prelims.

OTHER CAROLINA HIGHLIGHTS
• Freshman Tucker Burhans (47.55) had a lifetime-best swim in the 100-yard butterfly prelims.
• Three Tar Heels finished with personal records in the 200 free — freshman Tomas Sungaila swam 1:37.37, freshman Thomas Bretzmann 1:38.42 and sophomore Daniel Koenigsperger 1:38.90.
• Senior Patrick Cusick qualified for the C final with his prelim time of 48.01 and finished 23rd (48.20) in his last ACC Championships.
• Sophomore Tyler Hill clocked the fastest 100-yard backstroke of his career, swimming 48.32 in the prelims.

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 (PDF)

SATURDAY EVENT SCHEDULE
Prelims - 10 a.m. / Finals - 6 p.m.
• 1650-Yard Freestyle
• 200-Yard Backstroke
• 100-Yard Freestyle
• 200-Yard Breaststroke
• 200-Yard Butterfly
• 400-Yard Freestyle Relay

UNC Men's Swimmers 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