Swim & Dive Splits Dual at Georgia Tech
Atlanta, Ga. – South Carolina swim & dive split results in the final dual meet of the season at Georgia Tech on Friday. The No. 21-ranked Gamecock women took down Georgia Tech 169-131 while the Gamecock men fell to the No. 23-ranked Yellow Jackets 113-187.
Gamecock Notables
- South Carolina’s men swam their fastest time of the season in the 200 medley relay with Michael Laitarovsky, Daniel West, Linus Kahl, and Mark Shperkin combining for a time of 1:26.34 that landed them in second place.
- The Gamecock women swept the leaderboard of the 1650 free with Hayley Mason in first with a 16:30.51 followed by Sterling Burd in second (16:51.42) and Grace Daniels in third (16:53.50). The times were new personal bests for both Burd and Daniels.
- Freshman Connor Fry and Raymond Prosinski went 2-3 in the 1650 free for the men with Prosinski swimming a new personal best time of 15:15.81.
- South Carolina’s women stacked up a 2-3-4-5 finish in the 200 free with Jordan Agliano leading the group in second place. She was followed in third by Meaghan Harnish, in fourth was Ellery Ottem, and in fifth was MaKayla Ciancanelli.
- The women then swept the 100 back with Amy Riordan claiming the win with a new career-best time of 53.09. She was followed by Bella Pantano, Pia Murray, and Faith Khoo.
- Laitarovsky completed the regular season undefeated in the 100 back with his eighth consecutive win in the event. The junior swam a 46.38 for the victory.
- West was the highest-placing Gamecock in the 100 breast for the men with his 54.63 that landed him in second place.
- Greta Pelzek claimed the win in the 200 fly for the women with a time of 1:56.28. It was her third 200 fly win of the season.
- Graduate Luke DeVore claimed his first win of the season in the 200 fly, swimming a 1:46.44 which was also his fastest time of the season.
- Peyton Curry placed second in the 50 free with the fastest time of her career as a Gamecock (22.86).
- Shperkin continued to inch closer to the sub-20 second mark in the 50 free with his 20.01 that landed him in second place.
- Sophomore Dylan Scholes was the top-placing Gamecock in the 100 free in second place with a time of 49.48.
- Shperkin earned his second second-place finish of the day in the 100 free, swimming a 43,93.
- The Gamecock women dominated the 200 back with Riordan in first (1:56.10), Murray in second (1:57.16), Jessi Wigham in third (1:58.35), Faith Khoo in fourth (1:58.74), and Caroline Chasser in fifth (1:59.41).
- Laura Goettler (2:11.71), Delaney Franklin (2:13.48), and Harnish (2:13.57) went 2-3-4 in the 200 breast for the women.
- Kahl recorded a win in the 200 breast during his first time swimming it as a Gamecock. He touched the wall first with a time of 1:57.62.
- Ciancanelli recorded the first individual win of her career in the 500 free with a new career-best time of 4:49.56.
- Agliano also earned her first career individual win with hers coming in the 100 fly with a time of 53.52.
- Ahmed Rateb tied his highest individual finish as a Gamecock in the 100 fly with a new career-best time of 47.64.
- Pelzek claimed her second individual win of the day in the 200 IM with a time of 1:59.88.
- Kahl placed second in the 200 IM for the men with a new career-best time of 1:48.39.
- South Carolina’s women closed out the day with a win in the 400 free relay. Riordan, Scholes, Curry, and Ellery Ottem combined for a time of 3:18.31.
- The Gamecock men closed out the day with a second-place finish in the 400 free relay with Shperkin, Laitarovsky, Rateb, and Ryan Hufford combining for 2:27.12.
- On the women’s 1-meter springboard, junior Blair Isenhour was the top-scoring Gamecock with 73 that landed her in third place. Isenhour also led the Gamecocks on the 3-meter board, placing second with a 304.05, just 0.75 points behing the first-place finisher.
- On the men’s 1-meter board, sophomore Charley Bayer led the Gamecocks in second place with a 349.73. He was followed in third place by Max Spencer (337.28) and Tyler Hoard in fourth (286.13).
- In the 3-meter event, Spencer was the highest-scoring Gamecock with a 370.13 that landed him in second place.
Head Coach Jeff Poppell on the Teams Performance
“I’m really proud of the way that our men and women competed today against a strong Georgia Tech team. I feel that we gained a lot of valuable information that will help us better prepare our team for the upcoming SEC Championships.”
Up Next for the Gamecocks
The conclusion of Friday’s meet marks the end of the dual season for South Carolina. The Gamecocks will next send a group of select swimmers to Charlottesville, Va., to compete in the UVA Cavalier Invitational Feb. 9-11. For all the latest South Carolina swimming and diving information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockSwmDive).