Dec. 3, 2011
ATLANTA, GA. -
Five different current and former University of North Carolina men's swimmers finaled in their events Saturday night as competition concluded at the U.S. Swimming AT&T Winter National Championships at the Georgia Tech Aquatics Center. Four Tar Heel swimmers posted finishes in the Top 17 of their events led by junior Brett Nagle who copped eighth place in the 1500-meter freestyle.
Nagle, a Portland, Oregon native, had the top finish of any Tar Heel on Saturday night as he placed eighth in the 1500-meter freestyle in a time of 15:46.99. Sophomore Dan O'Connor, a native of Syracuse, N.Y., also had a Top 15 finish as he stroked his way to a 14th-place finish with a clocking of 15:58.17.
Thirty-three-year-old Erika Acuff Erndl continued her amazing post-graduate career as she placed fourth in the women's 100-meter freestyle in a time of 54.91. That was just shy of her school record of 54.59 seconds set by Erndl, a 2001 UNC graduate, at the 2009 U.S. Open.
Senior Steve Cebertowicz of Milwaukee, Wis., swam in the "C" final of the men's 100-meter freestyle. He recorded a time of 50.60 seconds and placed 25th.
Tyler Harris, a Richmond, Va. native and 2011 Carolina alumnus, placed 17th in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:16.51.
Junior Tom Luchsinger of Mt. Sinai, N.Y., won the consolation heat of the men's 200-meter butterfly in a time of 2:00.35, more than a second faster than his preliminary time. Luchsinger placed 11th overall in the event.
The Championships were the final competition of the fall semester for UNC swimming and diving. The spring semester will begin with a dual meet against Penn State on Wednesday, January 4 in Naples, Fla.
