Oct. 25, 2008

Complete Results

DALLAS, TEXAS - Led by freshman Layne Brodie, the University of North Carolina's women's swimming and diving team tied for second place Saturday night in the Lady Mustang Dallas Classic at historic Perkins Natatorium on the Southern Methodist University campus. Brodie was the winner of the meet's prestigious high point award as Carolina tied the host Mustangs for second place with 16th-ranked USC taking the title.

Sixteenth-ranked USC took top honors with 327 points while 15th-ranked Carolina and 12th-ranked SMU tied for second with 301 points. The Mustangs won the final event, the 200-yard freestyle relay, to tie the Tar Heels in the standings, a fitting end after the two teams had spent most of the 18-event meet trading second place back and forth. No. 23 Wisconsin was fourth with 258, No. 25 Alabama was fifth with 232 and No. 20 Arizona State was sixth with 227.

The format includes one relay entry for each team, one diving entry for each team and two entries for each team in the individual swimming events. The teams predetermine which entry will swim in the championship final and which in the consolation final so consolation finalist times can be faster than those in championship finals. Southern California did not enter divers in the meet.

The Tar Heels led off the evening with a third-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay in a time of 3:23.12. The relay consisted of junior Megan Steeves (50.55), senior Aubrette Biegel (50.06), junior Ashley Howard (52.04) and sophomore Rebecca Kane (49.47).

Sophomore Katura Harvey claimed second place in the 500-yard freestyle at 4:48.13 and Biegel was 10th in the event in 4:59.93.

Both UNC swimmers in the 200-yard backstroke bettered the two-minute barrier. Ashley Howard was in the championship final, finishing second in 1:59.35. Steeves was in the consolation final, which she won to finish seventh overall, and she was clocked in 1:59.43. That time bettered her previous career best set eight days ago against South Carolina and she is ranked eighth in school history in the event with the time.

Two UNC freshmen moved into the Top 6 in Tar Heel history in the 200-yard breaststroke. Laura Moriarty was eighth overall and second in the consolation final at 2:14.69, moving her into fourth place in school history. It was also her career best which previously stood at 2:15.42. Layne Brodie swam in the championship final and was second in 2:15.40, placing her No. 6 on UNC's all-time depth chart.

Freshman Jenna Moore was the runner-up in three-meter diving with a score of 288.45 points, her top career point total in the event.

UNC swimmers took second place in both heats of the 100-yard freestyle as sophomore Rebecca Kane was second in the championship final at 50.41 and Katura Harvey second in the consolation final and eighth overall at 52.63 seconds.

Laura Moriarty was third in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:02.88 and Ashley Howard took 12th in 2:11.49.

Layne Brodie led a pair of second-place finishes in both heats of the 200-yard individual medley. Brodie was second in the championship heat in 2:02.93. Junior Alison Clemens was eighth overall and second in her heat in 2:04.03.

In the final event, the Tar Heels' 200-yard freestyle relay team placed second in a time of 1:33.03. Rebecca Kane led off the relay in 23.17 seconds and the rest of the unit included Megan Steeves, Aubrette Biegel and Katura Harvey.

The Tar Heels will be back in action again next Friday and Saturday at Koury Natatorium in a dual meet against 11th-ranked Minnesota. The two-day men's and women's dual will include 10 events on Friday beginning at 6 p.m. and 10 events on Saturday beginning at noon.