CHAPEL HILL– The Chapel Hill High School swim program made a big splash last Friday when it captured both the men’s and women’s conference crowns in the league swim meet.

The women’s team went undefeated throughout the regular season and won the conference meet despite being disqualified in one of the relay events.

Head Coach Steve Reigler says he was proud of the way his team responded to the disqualification.

“I really like how the women responded. In the last couple events, they really performed at a high level, allowing us to catch and then pass and retake the lead. We were able to hold on with the last relay. It ended up being a little bit closer than we projected with having that DQ, […] but they did a good job of bouncing back from that adversity,” Coach Reigler says.

As for the men, they lost once to rival Cardinal Gibbons in early December. But they exacted some revenge in the conference meet last week, overcoming the Crusaders for the first time.

Photo courtesy of CHHS Swimming Facebook page

Photo courtesy of CHHS Swimming Facebook page

Coach Reigler says the big win will give the men’s team a boost in confidence.

“It’s really good for our guys to see that we can compete with them and actually beat them. We’ve always competed hard against them, but we’ve just never been able to get over the hump at any of our meets against them. It’s good for our guys to build some confidence heading into this week. I think you’re talking about the two top teams in the state right there in the same conference,” Coach Reigler says.

Chapel Hill’s swimming program is loaded with year-round dedicated swimmers with aspirations to compete at the next level.

Coach Reigler says he has a couple underclassmen on track for D-I offers, including Claire DeSelm, the daughter of UNC Head Coach Rich DeSelm.

“He (DeSelm) might be offering his own daughter a scholarship to attend UNC,” Coach Reigler says.

Next up for the Tiger swim team will be regionals this Friday, and Coach Reigler fully expects to be battling it out once again with Cardinal Gibbons.

You can follow the Chapel Hill High swimming program on Facebook here.