March 30, 2008

FEDERAL WAY, WASH. - Freshman Joe Kinderwater finished fifth in the 1650-yard freestyle Saturday night at the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships hosted by the University of Washington. Kinderwater set the school record in the process and joined senior diver Ryan Funderburk and freshman Tyler Harris in earning All-America honors at the Championships.

Kinderwater blazed through the water in 14:53.57, his career best time and the new University record in the event. Kinderwater broke the school record of his sophomore teammate Chip Peterson, who is redshirting this season. Peterson had set the school record at 14:55.63 at last year's NCAA Championships.

Kinderwater's fifth-place finish was the highest for a Tar Heel since the 1993 season when James Hamrick finished fifth in the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA Championships. The last time a UNC swimmer finished higher than fifth was in 1984 when Eric Ericson finished fourth in the 100-yard backstroke.

Two other Tar Heels were in the water Saturday as Tyler Harris finished 32nd in the 200-yard butterfly at 1:48.10 and senior Philip Owen was 28th in the 1650-yard freestyle at 15:25.23.

Carolina finished in a tie for 29th place in the team standings with 20 team points.

With Kinderwater, Harris and Funderburk all claiming All-America honors, it was the first year UNC has had three All-Americas since 2004 when Reid Owen, Yuri Suguiyama and Josh Glasco were All-Americas.