Gamecocks Open NCAA Championships with All-American Performance

March 22, 2017

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – It didn’t take long for the University of South Carolina Swimming & Diving team to make history as the 2017 NCAA Division I Swimming & Diving Championships opened on Wednesday night at the IU Natatorium. Carolina’s team of Fynn Minuth, Tomas Peribonio, Akram Mahmoud and Cody Bekemeyer finished as All-Americans and set a new school record in the lone event of the night, the 800-yard freestyle relay.

The Gamecock relay team swam the race in 6:16.31, the second sub-6:20 time in program history. South Carolina scored four team points with the performance and thus sits in 13th-place with three full days of competition left on the docket.

RECAP

Minuth swam the first leg in 1:33.59, a personal record, before handing it off to Peribonio, who turned in a split of 1:33.81. Mahmoud turned in a swim of 1:33.62 and Peribonio closed the race with a split of 1:35.29.

The previous record of 6:19.93, which included Mahmoud, Minuth and Peribonio, came at the 2016 NCAA Championships where the squad finished at 15th.

NOTABLE

• The Gamecocks have now turned in an All-America performance in each of the last five seasons in the 800 free relay.
• Mahmoud and Peribonio were part of three All-America teams, while Minuth was part of the group in 2016.
• Bekemeyer earned his first career All-America honor.

• UP NEXT FOR CAROLINA

  The 2016 NCAA Men’s Championships begin in earnest on Thursday, as individual swimming and diving events get underway. Mahmoud, Minuth, Peribonio and Bekemeyer will swim the 500-yard freestyle, Nils Wich-Glasen is part of the 200-yard IM. Swimming prelims start at 10 a.m. and finals are scheduled for 6 p.m.