April 1, 2003

GREENSBORO, N.C. - North Carolina's Jessi Perruquet earned the 2003 Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Swimmer of the Year honors as the league's top swimmer in a vote by the eight head swimming coaches it was announced on Tuesday by the ACC Office in Greensboro.

Perruquet, a native of Danville, Pa., captured All-America honors after finishing tied for first place in the 200 freestyle at the 2003 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships with a time of 1:45.01. She becomes North Carolina's first national champion in swimming since 1984 and only the eighth Tar Heel swimmer to win an individual national championship. Perruquet also finished sixth in the 100-yard freestyle at NCAAs and was a member of UNC's 10th place NCAA 800 freestyle relay team.