March 12, 2004

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. - The University of North Carolina men's swimming and diving team has earned three bids for swimmers to compete in the 2004 NCAA Division I Championships which will be held March 25-27 in Hempstead, N.Y. Senior Yuri Suguiyama (Ijamsville, Md.) returns to the NCAA Championships after earning All-America honors last year in the 500 and 1650-yard freestyles.

Two other Tar Heels also earned bids to the Championships, both for the first time. Junior Reid Owen of Chattanooga, Tenn. earned an invite in the 1650-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle and sophomore Josh Glasco (Richmond, Va.) qualified in the 200-yard butterfly.

Suguiyama finished 13th in both the 500 and 1650 as a junior in 2003. He also qualified for the NCAA Championships as a sophomore in 2002. He won ACC titles in the 200-yard freestyle in both 2003 and 2004.