Gamecocks Head to Texas for SEC Championships
Bryan-College Station, Texas – South Carolina swimming & diving begins postseason competition on Tuesday at the SEC Championships, hosted by Texas A&M. Events at the Championships will run Tues., Feb. 14 through Sat., Feb. 18 at the Rec Center Natatorium.
The meet will begin with a half day of competition on Tuesday. Diving prelims for the men’s 1-meter and women’s 3-meter will begin at 10:30 a.m. Finals will begin at 4:20 p.m. with men’s 1-meter diving, the 200 medley relay, women’s 3-meter diving, and the 800 free relay.
Full competition days will be Wednesday through Saturday with swim prelims at 9:30 a.m., dive prelims as noon, and finals at 5:30 p.m. each day.
All-session tickets are sold out, however individual session tickets for the the event can be found here. Tickets will not be sold at the facility. Doors will open each day 1 hour prior to the first event time of each session.
Spectator parking will be available in the West Campus parking garage located adjacent to the Rec Center. Hourly fees will apply. A clear bag policy will be in effect.
The SEC Network + will provide complete coverage of the championships. More information, including a detailed schedule and streaming links is available on the Championship Central webpage.
Gamecock Notables
- South Carolina’s women’s team enter post-season competition ranked No. T-25 in the February edition of the CSCAA Dual Meet Poll.
- Both the men and women have set new records in the 100 back this season. On the women’s side, junior Bella Pantano broke her own school record, setting the new time at 53.26. On the men’s side sophomore Michael Laitarovsky also broke his own record with a new time of 45.92. Both times were set at the Gamecock Invitational in November 2022.
- The Gamecock divers have also made a splash in the record book this season. Senior Manny Vazquez Bas set a new school record in the platform dive at the Georgia Diving Invitational, scoring a 410.15. Graduate Brooke Schultz has also set new diving records, breaking the 3-meter record at the season opener with a 413.78 and breaking the 1-meter record at the last regular season diving event with a 370.58.
- The Gamecocks have earned a total of 14 SEC Weekly honors this season with Schultz leading the way, having been named SEC Women’s Diver of the Week five times this season. The divers have also been represented in the weekly awards by Vazquez Bas who was named Diver of the Week twice this season, and freshman Charley Bayer as well as sophomore Sophie Verzyl who have each earned the title once this season.
- South Carolina’s freshmen have also made their mark on the conference’s weekly awards. Jose Castro was named the Men’s Freshman of the Week during Week 1, Amy Riordan was named Women’s Freshman of the Week during Weeks 3 and 8, and Meaghan Harnish and Sterling Burd both earned the title during Weeks 10 and 14 respectively.
- Junior Tatiana Salcutan is the 10th fastest swimmer in the conference this season in the 200 back. The Moldavian Olympian earned four wins in the event during the regular season and placed in the top-3 in all seven times that she competed in the event.
- Graduate transfer Victoria Kwan is the 8th fastest swimmer in the conference this season in the 400 IM. Kwan went undefeated in the event during the regular season, winning it at North Carolina and at the Gamecock Invitational.
- On the men’s side, Luke DeVore has been an asset to the men’s butterfly group. The senior dominated the 200 fly this season, winning the event six times during the regular season and placing in the top-2 all eight times that he competed in the event.
- Fifth-year Rafael Davila has proven his experience this season, putting on a masterclass in distance events. The Venezuelan won six of his eight 500 free events, six of his seven 1000 free events, and placed first in his only 1650 free event of the season.
Schedule of Events
Tuesday
Men’s 1-meter, 200 medley relay, women’s 3-meter, 800 free relay
Wednesday
200 free relay, 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, women’s 1-meter
Thursday
400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, men’s 3-meter
Friday
200 fly, 100 back, 100 breast, women’s platform, 400 medley relay
Saturday
1650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, men’s platform, 400 free relay
For all the latest South Carolina swimming and diving information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockSwim).
