UNC vs. UNCW
- October 21, 2022
- David B. Allen Natatorium, Wilmington, NC
- SCY (25 Yards)
- Full Results
In a dual of UNC schools, it was the Tar Heels who came away with the win on both the women’s and men’s sides. In total, UNC won 29 of the 32 events to roll past the UNCW Seahawks.
Final Scores
- Women: #15 UNC – 188 v. UNCW – 107
- Men: #25 UNC – 195 v. UNCW – 100
Women’s Recap
Grace Countie, Ellie VanNote, and Emma Karam dominated the women’s meet, combining for five pool records. VanNote got things started in the 200 freestyle, popping 1:50.36 to take down the former record of 1:50.78 set by Lindsay Gendron (Tennessee) in 2013. VanNote earned her second pool record in the 100 fly, touching in 53.95 and bettering the 13-year-old record old by 1.14 seconds. Last season, VanNote finished 16th in the 100 fly at NCAAs in 52.06.
Countie, a fifth-year who scored 38 points at 2022 NCAAs, also took down two pool records. First, she downed the 100 back record with a 52.80. That lowered the former record, which had stood since 2011, by a whopping 3.7 seconds. In her next event — the 50 free — Countie touched in 22.47, taking the pool record under 23 seconds for the first time.
Countie coming back for a fifth-season was a massive boost for the Tar Heels, and she’s looked strong through the early part of the season. She’s been as fast as 50.77 in the 100 back and 21.44 in the 50 free. In the latter event, her time this weekend was about where she was at this time last season. It’s her 100 back that’s a big improvement from October 2021; last season, she didn’t break 53 seconds until her mid-season invite.
Karam, a freshman, also got in on the fun, taking down the pool record in the 200 backstroke. She clocked 1:59.75, taking down Hannah Stepherson‘s record of 2:02.55 from 2013. The swim is off her lifetime best of 1:54.58 from March, but is an improvement from last month’s dual versus Queens, where she was 2:01.20.
UNC’s other big fifth-year Sophie Lindner, raced a pair of off-events and took second in the 100 free (51.37) and third in the 100 fly (55.40). Last year, she scored nine points at NCAAs from two ‘B’ finals berths in the backstroke events.
In the diving well, Emily Grund made her return to competition for the Tar Heels. Grund announced she had been diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) in September 2021. She sat out from competition to undergo treatment, and was declared cancer free in March. A redshirt senior, Grund took second on 1-meter (306.83) and third on 3-meter (252.60)
For the Hawks, the highlight of the women’s meet was junior Brooke Knisely, who won both the 1000 (9:57.23) and 500 free (4:55.22). Last year, Knisely became UNCW’s sixth swimmer in history to qualify for NCAAs, and the first since 2013. She finished 53rd in the 500 free and 26th in the 1650.
Men’s Recap
On the men’s side, Louis Dramm led the Tar Heels with three individual victories. The German freshman opened with a win in the 1000 free (9:21.73). Next, he won the 500 free (4:32.41) before wrapping up his day with a win in the 200 IM (1:50.35). As this is Dramm’s first season in yards, the team seems to still be figuring out how best to use him. In his first yards meet, he swam the 100, 200, and 500 free. He’s improved his 500 free time since then, taking 2.5 seconds off his time from the dual with Queens.
Sophomores Dylan Citta and Nick Radkov each secured two event wins for UNC. Citta swept the breaststrokes in 55.98 and 2:03.64, while Radkov won the 100 and 200 freestyles in 45.25 and 1:38.53. For Radkov, an NCAA relay qualifier, those times are right around where he was at this time last season. For Citta, this 200 breaststroke is a huge improvement from where he was at in October 2021. On this weekend last year, he was 2:07.43.
Much of UNC’s momentum comes from their returning fifth-years, and on the men’s side, it’s diver Anton Down Jenkins who’s boosting the Tar Heels. Last year, the Olympian and two-time ACC Diver of the Year scored all of UNC’s 24 NCAA points as he finished 8th on 1-meter and 6th on 3-meter.
At this meet, he swept the boards, posting 390.75 points on the 1-meter and 374.33 on 3-meter. He won by comfortable margins in both events, 52.42 points ahead of teammate Alexander Hart on the 1-meter and 28.5 points on 3-meter.
For the defending CAA champion UNCW men, Sam O’Brien took home two second-place finishes. He earned a runner-up finish behind Dramm in the 1000 with a 9:25.47, then took second in the 200 back to Noah Rutberg just .24 seconds behind in 1:48.53. Other positive results came from Jacob Duracinsky, who posted a season best 45.60 in the 100 free, moving him less than a second off the lifetime best he went leading off UNCW’s second-place 400 free relay at 2022 CAA championships.
