The University of North Carolina Tar Heels have announced a brutal 2015-2016 schedule that includes 5 of the top 10 teams at last year’s women’s NCAA Championships.
The Tar Heel women will face #2 Georgia, #5 Virginia, #6 Louisville, #7 Texas and #10 Indiana in the coming year, along with #11 Tennessee.
That’s a tough gauntlet of opponents, but should give UNC plenty of experience racing elite competition in preparation for the ACC and NCAA Championships.
The Tar Heel men don’t have it much easier, with duals lined up against defending NCAA champs Texas plus #7 Georgia and #8 NC State.
The teams open intercollegiate competition against Georgia on October 10th. That meet will be on the road, as will the quad meet with Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee later in the month.
The intercollegiate home opener in Chapel Hill doesn’t come until November 6th, when the Heels host ACC newcomers Louisville in a two-day dual. (That’s not counting an open water race in September, an intrasquad meet a week later and a “Mile Meet” with UNC’s companion club North Carolina Aquatics.)
As usual, it appears UNC will make the home Nike Cup its mid-season rest meet. That takes place from November 19-21, though the team also lists U.S. Winter Nationals (December 3-5) on its schedule. Winter Nationals will take place in long course meters due to the upcoming Olympic Trials, so that’s likely more of a focus meet for Tar Heels hoping to earn Olympic Trial cuts during the college season.
The second semester is highlighted by a home dual against in-state rivals North Carolina State. The UNC-NC State rivalry has become a great one over the past few seasons, with the ACC programs battling for bragging rights within the state of North Carolina. That meet will take place on January 20th.
The men’s and women’s ACC Championships are slated to head to the Greensboro Aquatic Center this coming season, a relative neutral ground for the growing conference. The women’s meet is February 17-20 and the men’s meet February 24-27.
You can view the full schedule here, or we’ve also copied it below.
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | TIME (ET) | WATCH | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, Sep 12 | Pier-2-Pier Open Water | Wrightsville Beach, N.C. | 9:00 AM | |||
| Sat, Sep 19 | Blue vs. White | Chapel Hill, N.C. | 9:00 AM | |||
| Sat, Oct 10 | Georgia | at Athens, Ga. | 11:00 AM | |||
| Fri, Oct 30 | Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee | at Bloomington, Ind. | 2:00 PM | |||
| Sun, Nov 01 | UNC/NCAC Mile Meet | Chapel Hill, N.C. | 11:00 AM | |||
| Fri, Nov 06 | Louisville * | Chapel Hill, N.C. | 3:00 PM | |||
| Sat, Nov 07 | Louisville * | Chapel Hill, N.C. | 9:00 AM | |||
| Fri, Nov 13 | Texas | Chapel Hill, N.C. | 4:00 PM | |||
| Nike Cup | ||||||
| Thu, Nov 19 | Nike Cup Preliminaries | Chapel Hill, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Thu, Nov 19 | Nike Cup Finals | Chapel Hill, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Fri, Nov 20 | Nike Cup Preliminaries | Chapel Hill, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Fri, Nov 20 | Nike Cup Finals | Chapel Hill, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Sat, Nov 21 | Nike Cup Finals | Chapel Hill, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Sat, Nov 21 | Nike Cup Preliminaries | Chapel Hill, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Thu, Dec 03 | AT&T Winter Nationals | Federal Way, Wash. | TBA | |||
| Fri, Dec 04 | AT&T Winter Nationals | Federal Way, Wash. | TBA | |||
| Sat, Dec 05 | AT&T Winter Nationals | Federal Way, Wash. | TBA | |||
| Tue, Dec 15 | U.S. Diving Winter Nationals | Indianapolis, Ind. | TBA | |||
| Wed, Dec 16 | U.S. Diving Winter Nationals | Indianapolis, Ind. | TBA | |||
| Thu, Dec 17 | U.S. Diving Winter Nationals | Indianapolis, Ind. | TBA | |||
| Fri, Dec 18 | U.S. Diving Winter Nationals | Indianapolis, Ind. | TBA | |||
| Sat, Dec 19 | U.S. Diving Winter Nationals | Indianapolis, Ind. | TBA | |||
| Sun, Dec 20 | U.S. Diving Winter Nationals | Indianapolis, Ind. | TBA | |||
| Sat, Jan 09 | Navy | Chapel Hill, N.C. | 11:00 AM | |||
| Sat, Jan 23 | Virginia * | Chapel Hill, N.C. | 12:00 PM | |||
| Fri, Jan 29 | Duke * | at Durham, N.C. | 5:00 PM | |||
| Sat, Jan 30 | NC State * | Chapel Hill, N.C. | 1:00 PM | |||
| Fri, Feb 05 | Carolina College Invitational | Chapel Hill, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Sat, Feb 06 | Carolina College Invitational | Chapel Hill, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Sun, Feb 07 | Carolina College Invitational | Chapel Hill, N.C. | TBA | |||
| ACC Women’s Swimming Championships | ||||||
| Wed, Feb 17 | FInals | Greensboro, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Thu, Feb 18 | Preliminaries | Greensboro, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Thu, Feb 18 | FInals | Greensboro, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Fri, Feb 19 | FInals | Greensboro, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Fri, Feb 19 | Preliminaries | Greensboro, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Sat, Feb 20 | FInals | Greensboro, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Sat, Feb 20 | Preliminaries | Greensboro, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Sun, Feb 21 | Long Course Time Trials | Greensboro, N.C. | TBA | |||
| ACC Men’s Swimming Championships | ||||||
| Wed, Feb 24 | FInals | Greensboro, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Thu, Feb 25 | FInals | Greensboro, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Thu, Feb 25 | Preliminaries | Greensboro, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Fri, Feb 26 | FInals | Greensboro, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Fri, Feb 26 | Preliminaries | Greensboro, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Sat, Feb 27 | FInals | Greensboro, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Sat, Feb 27 | Preliminaries | Greensboro, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Sat, Feb 27 | Bulldog Invitational | Athens,Ga. | TBA | |||
| Sun, Feb 28 | Long Course Time Trials | Greensboro, N.C. | TBA | |||
| Sun, Feb 28 | Bulldog Invitational | Athens,Ga. | TBA | |||
| Sat, Mar 05 | Yellow Jacket Invitational | Atlanta, Ga. | TBA | |||
| Sun, Mar 06 | Yellow Jacket Invitational | Atlanta, Ga. | TBA | |||
| Wed, Mar 09 | NCAA Zone Diving Championships | Atlanta, Ga. | TBA | |||
| Thu, Mar 10 | NCAA Zone Diving Championships | Atlanta, Ga. | TBA | |||
| Fri, Mar 11 | NCAA Zone Diving Championships | Atlanta, Ga. | TBA | |||
| NCAA Women’s Swimming Championships | ||||||
| Thu, Mar 17 | Preliminaries | Atlanta, Ga. | TBA | |||
| Thu, Mar 17 | FInals | Atlanta, Ga. | TBA | |||
| Fri, Mar 18 | FInals | Atlanta, Ga. | TBA | |||
| Fri, Mar 18 | Preliminaries | Atlanta, Ga. | TBA | |||
| Sat, Mar 19 | FInals | Atlanta, Ga. | TBA | |||
| Sat, Mar 19 | Preliminaries | Atlanta, Ga. | TBA | |||
| NCAA Men’s Swimming Championships | ||||||
| Thu, Mar 24 | Preliminaries | Atlanta, Ga. | TBA | |||
| Thu, Mar 24 | FInals | Atlanta, Ga. | TBA | |||
| Fri, Mar 25 | FInals | Atlanta, Ga. | TBA | |||
| Fri, Mar 25 | Preliminaries | Atlanta, Ga. | TBA | |||
| Sat, Mar 26 | FInals | Atlanta, Ga. | TBA | |||
| Sat, Mar 26 | Preliminaries | Atlanta, Ga. | TBA | |||
