March 11, 2010

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina freshman swimmer Michael Flach earned an invitation to the 2010 NCAA Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships as the meet’s official psych sheet was released on Wednesday. The men’s championships run March 25-27 in Columbus, Ohio.

Flach finished the season ranked 21st in the country in the 500-yard freestyle as he posted the second-fastest time in school history at the SEC Championships last month in Athens, Ga.. He won the league’s bronze medal and earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors with his time of 4:19.37, the second-fastest in school history. The freshman from Annandale, Va., will also compete in the 200 freestyle and 200 butterfly as he earned provisional qualifying times in both events during the season.

This will mark the 13th consecutive year for the South Carolina men’s team to be represented at the NCAA Championships. Last season, Nick Walkotten and Kyle Cormier swam for the Gamecocks at the 2009 NCAA Championships in College Station, Texas, leading South Carolina to a 29th-place national finish.

The Gamecock divers will look to punch their own tickets to the NCAA Championships this weekend as they compete at the NCAA Zone B Diving Regionals in Atlanta, Ga.