UNC Invite Preview: Wolfpack Elite Swimmers Join ACC Powers In Chapel Hill

2020 Janis Hape Dowd Invitational

• December 3-5, 2020
• Koury Natatorium, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• SCY (25y)
• Psych Sheets
• Meet Timeline
• Live Results

Several of the top ACC schools will be in action this weekend at the 2020 UNC Invitational, being held in Chapel Hill by the University of North Carolina, with NC State, Virginia Tech and Duke joining the Tar Heels. In addition, the Wolfpack Elite squad will be competing, with multiple members just a few weeks out of the 2020 International Swimming League season.

Women’s Preview

Among the female swimmers highlighting the psych sheets include NC State seniors Kate Moore and Julia Poole, juniors Kylee Alons and Emma Muzzy, and sophomore Katharine Berkoff.

This will only be the second collegiate competition for the Wolfpack this season, following a dual at UNC in early November that featured several non-traditional NCAA events, though they did compete later in the month long course at the U.S. Open.

Moore holds down the top seed in the women’s 500 free, 1650 free and 400 IM, and also sits third behind teammates Muzzy and Berkoff in the 200 back. Berkoff, whose converted LCM time from the U.S. Open (2:10.12) has her sixth on the NCAA rankings this season, also tops the 100 back field with her 51.21 from the 2020 ACC Championships. Muzzy is the only swimmer seeded sub-1:52 in the 200, having been 1:50.79 at last season’s conference meet.

Poole holds the top seed in the 200 free, 200 breast and 200 IM, and Alons stands as the women to beat in the sprints with #1 seeds in the 50 free, 100 free and 100 fly.

The lone non-NC State top seed on the women’s side comes from Duke’s Mia Bullock, who sits atop the 200 fly in 1:57.50.

Men’s Preview

On the men’s side it’s hard to ignore the presence of several professionals representing Wolfpack Elite, including Justin Ress and Coleman Stewart who are both coming off standout ISL performances for the league-champion Cali Condors.

Also competing unattached will be Michael Chadwick, who was also in the Budapest bubble representing the Toronto Titans.

The 23-year-old Ress holds down top seeds in the 50 and 100 free, with Chadwick and Stewart also entered in both, while Stewart and Ress rank 1-2 in the 100 back. Stewart, the 2019 NCAA runner-up in the 100 back, ranked first in the country in 2020 prior to the cancellation of the National Championships in his senior season.

Also repping Wolfpack Elite will be Towson grad Jack Saunderson, seeded first in the 100 and 200 fly, and former Missouri State swimmer Paul Le, who ranks first in the 200 IM.

Among the collegiate athletes, NC State’s Eric Knowles holds down three #1 seeds in the 200 free, 1650 free and 400 IM, while his teammate Ross Dant ranks first in the 500.

North Carolina’s Valdas Abaliksta and Virginia Tech’s AJ Pouch highlight the breaststroke fields.