The UNC women have been noticably absent of the services of junior Carly Smith this season, and we finally caught up with head coach Rich DeSelm, who confirmed that Smith would not be competing for the Tar Heels this season due to an injury:
“Carly Smith, an ACC Champion in the 100 & 200 Backstroke and for UNC’s winning 200 & 400 Medley Relays, and an NCAA All American, will not compete this season due to an injury. We have missed and will continue to miss having Carly represent Carolina and the 2011-2012 women’s team. We are eager for her to have a full recovery and return to unrestricted training and competition as soon as possible.”
This is a big blow to UNC’s battle for a top-20 finish at NCAA’s. Smith finished 5th last year in the 100 back (52.50) and was likely to be a scorer in the 200 this year as well. She was also a huge leg of both of UNC’s medley relays. She is also capable of scoring in the 100 fly, if she wants to try the double next season, with a best last season of 53.19 from ACC’s.
Meanwhile senior Sarah List has taken over the main backstroke duties on the 200 medley with senior Candace Cooper seeing most of the action on the ‘A’ 400 medley. Katie Nolan is the team’s best sprint backstroker, but she’s also the team’s best sprint butterflier.