"Everyone has their day in the sun, but some days are longer," read the banner hanging above the University of North Carolina's men's swimming team. The words of the sign told the tale of the Atlantic Coast Conference Swimming Championships last weekend. The Tar Heels overwhelmingly dominated the rest of the ACC for the fourth year in a row. But a handful of Blue Devils had their day in the sun.
Duke (4-5) beat Georgia Tech and finished in the same place as last year, seventh.
The meet started off slowly Thursday morning. The Blue Devils did not qualify any individual swimmers for the finals Thursday night.
But Friday and Saturday evening Duke placed junior Phil Borden, freshman Chris Wise, and freshman Mark Rotblat in the finals. Friday evening Borden was only hundredths of a second off the top eight finishers in the 100-yard butterfly. He placed ninth in the prelims and 14th during the consolation finals.
"My goal was to make the top eight," Borden said. "Overall, I am pleased, but it was a little disappointing."
Borden's time in the fly was only one one-hundredth of a second off the school record.
Wise shined on Friday and Saturday. For Wise, with each passing day of the competition, his meet got better and better. Friday evening the freshman swam a personal-best time and placed 14th in the consolation finals in the 400 Individual Medley. But Saturday evening, Wise made his mark in the mile. His time of 15:46.98 cut almost 40 seconds off his previous personal best and was only seven seconds off the qualifying time for NCAAs.
Rotblat was also a consolation finals qualifier for Duke. He placed 12th overall in the finals of the 100 breastroke.
Peter Mackrill, the lone diver for the Blue Devils at the ACCs, placed seventh in both the one-and three-meter diving competitions. Mackrill is just a junior this year, but will be graduating one year early. An All-ACC diver last year, he was an asset as a point earner for the men's team.
Mackrill and three other seniors: Tony Alvarez, Scott Gallagher, and Andrew Delia also finished their swimming careers at Chapel Hill Saturday night.
"It's very nostalgic to watch your last race, cheer your last cheer, and watch your last relay," Alvarez said. "But I ended my career with a good meet, and I feel proud to finish up my college years with four years of a sport."
Head coach Bob Thompson was very pleased with the men's team's performances.
"There were just not very many bad swims," Thompson said. "It is disappointing when we swim well and cannot do any better getting people into finals though."
Thompson said he feels the addition of Florida State to the conference could be one key reason why the Blue Devils have struggled in qualifying swimmers for the finals.
Alvarez and Thompson agreed that the team's outstanding performances came mostly from the freshman class. Brian Oles and Rob Nikander both had impressive individual meets.
"The freshman class is a good core for the team," Alvarez said.
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