Feb. 18, 2010
ATHENS, Ga. – Michael Flach, Bridget Halligan and Taryn Zack all advanced to finals in their respective events, and three South Carolina swimmers posted NCAA provisional qualifying times in the second day of preliminaries at the SEC Swimming & Diving Championships.
Flach, in his first individual swim at an SEC Championship, earned the eighth and final qualifying spot in the championship final of the 500-yard freestyle, clocking a 4:21.93 to out-touch Florida’s Raymond Jeffery by four-hundredths of a second. The swim lowered his NCAA `B’ cut time by almost a second and ranks as the second-fastest time in school history.
The Gamecock women also earned their first entry into a swimming final as junior Bridget Halligan earned the first NCAA `B’ cut of her career with a 22.93 in the 50 freestyle. She will swim in the consolation final this evening as the 12th qualifier. It was a personal record for Halligan and the fifth-fastest time in school history.
Senior Andrew Atzhorn tied for first alternate (17th place) in the 200 individual medley, but will not swim the evening final as there were no scratches ahead of him. His time of 1:49.19 set a personal record and also earned an NCAA `B’ cut for the Gamecock senior.
In the diving well, junior Taryn Zack was the top qualifier in women’s 3-meter with a score of 348.85. She will advance to the evening’s finals as the defending SEC runner-up in the 3-meter event. South Carolina also had a pair of scorers in men’s 1-meter diving prelims with Ryan Kuser taking 10th place with a 304.45 and Rylan Ridenour finishing 11th with 303.40. Nikolas Sachs barely missed the scoring with a 17th-place score of 271.05.
In the morning session, 21 Gamecocks set personal records in their respective events, either in the competition itself or in a time trial immediately following preliminaries. Those are listed below in the results denoted by “PR” next to their time.
Finals get underway at 6 p.m. at the Gabrielsen Natatorium. Live video and results are available through GeorgiaDogs.com, and fans can receive up-to-the-minute results via Twitter by following @GamecockSwim.
WOMEN’S 500 FREESTYLE
| Claire Thompson | 25th | 4:52.97 |
| Christine Thompson | 27th | 4:54.64 |
| Whitney Avers | 32nd | 4:57.49 PR |
| Jordan Gibbs | 36th | 4:58.84 PR |
| Matea Peteh | 41st | 5:08.52 PR |
| Stephanie Hellenga | exh | 5:07.66 PR |
MEN’S 500 FREESTYLE
| Michael Flach | 8th | 4:21.93 PR B |
| Brooks Ross | 24th | 4:30.71 PR |
| Matt Columbus | 30th | 4:33.76 PR |
| Dan Jackson | 35th | 4:36.56 |
WOMEN’S 200 IM
| Aileen Atzhorn | 35th | 2:05.80 PR |
| Lydia Hackert | 44th | 2:13.95 |
| Alyssa Hand | exh | 2:10.01 |
MEN’S 200 IM
| Andrew Atzhorn | T-17th | 1:49.19 PR B |
| James Crawford | 22nd | 1:50.50 |
| Alex Fitton | 26th | 1:51.31 PR |
| Collin Kaden | 27th | 1:51.52 PR |
| Bobby Cave | 28th | 1:51.59 PR |
| Chris Kelly | 29th | 1:51.66 PR |
| Ryan Connolly | 33rd | 1:53.44 PR |
| Trey Tharpe | 37th | 1:56.27 PR |
WOMEN’S 50 FREESTYLE
| Bridget Halligan | 12th | 22.93 PR B |
| Sharntelle McLean | 21st | 23.36 |
| Kristina Delp | 35th | 23.94 |
| Megan Sparks | 36th | 24.04 |
| Kerry Abel | 45th | 24.61 PR |
| Shaylyn Blake | T-46th | 24.62 |
| Colleen MacMillan | 48th | 24.70 PR |
| *Colleen MacMillan | — | 24.72 |
MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE
| David Livsey | 30th | 20.59 |
| Andrew Seiler | 34th | 20.79 |
| Isaac Badillo | 40th | 21.33 PR |
| Brett Sexton | exh | 21.45 |
| *David Livsey | — | 20.54 PR |
| *Andrew Seiler | — | 20.81 |
| *Isaac Badillo | — | 21.20 PR |
| *Brett Sexton | — | 21.46 |
MEN’S 1-METER DIVING
| Ryan Kuser | 10th | 304.45 |
| Rylan Ridenour | 11th | 303.40 |
| Nikolas Sachs | 17th | 271.05 |
WOMEN’S 3-METER DIVING
| Taryn Zack | 1st | 348.45 |
| Allison Barr | 18th | 268.60 |
| Helen Alvey | 19th | 262.20 |
| Sarah Deuell | 23rd | 224.25 |
