Swimming and Diving Fall at Texas A&M
Oct. 28, 2016
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS — The University of South Carolina Swimming & Diving team fell to Texas A&M Friday evening at the Rec Center Natatorium. The Carolina men fell, 176-118, while the women dropped a 157-132.
Despite the setbacks, Carolina had several student-athletes win multiple events. On the women’s side, Julia Vincent won the 3-meter and 1-meter dives and Emma Barksdale notched a victory in the 200-yard IM. The Gamecock women also took first and second in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
For the men, Akram Mahmoud and Tomas Peribonio collected two event victories each. Mahmoud won the 1000-yard and 500-yard freestyles, while Peribonio earned first in the 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard IM. Fynn Minuth also picked up a win for the Gamecocks when he placed first in the 200-yard butterfly.
With the losses, Carolina’s men’s and women’s teams are both 0-2. Both Texas A&M teams are now 2-0.
QUOTING HEAD SWIMMING COACH McGee Moody
“I was disappointed in the score but very pleased with how our athletes raced. Texas A&M is a very tough road trip, against one of the best teams in the country. Our athletes fought hard tonight.”
QUOTING HEAD DIVING COACH Todd Sherritt
“Today was another step toward the SEC championship. We had some great performances today and some that needed work. Every competition, whether good or bad, has something that needs to be learned. Today was no exception. We have been working very hard on some fundamentals and some of that showed up but some didn’t. We will continue to work on our hurdles, which have been a sore spot on this team. Our goal is to make that our strength.”
MEN’S RECAP
After finishing third in the 200-yard medley relay, the Gamecocks got off to a good start when they swept the top three spots in the 1000-yard freestyle. Mahmoud took first with a time of 9:13.52, Cody Bekemeyer followed at 9:16.27 and Travis Morrin took third with a time of 9:31.19.
Tom Peribonio and Mahmoud kept the momentum going for Carolina after taking the top two spots in the 200-yard freestyle. Peribonio came in first with a time of 1:38.39, while Mahmoud closely followed at 1:38.83.
Newcomer Will Countie had the highest Gamecock finish in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 50.88 to take fourth place.
In the 100-yard breaststroke, Nils Wich-Glasen earned second place after swimming a time of 54.45, while Jeremiah Bohon took fourth with a time of 56.65.
Fynn Minuth collected his first victory of the season after taking first in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:49.19, while teammate Caleb Tosh came in third after finishing with a time of 1:50.25.
Jonathan Boland took third place in the 50-yard freestyle after finishing the race with a time of 20.64 and finished fourth in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 45.79.
Jordan Gotro finished fifth in the 1-meter dive with a score of 275.41 and fourth in the 3-meter dive at 313.28.
With another second place finish, Wich-Glasen had a time of 1:58.60 in the 200-yard breaststroke, followed by Bohon in third at 2:03.38.
Adding another victory on the night, Mahmoud earned first in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:27.20, followed by Minuth in second at 4:28.38. Boland then claimed second in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 49.76.
Peribonio was the top Gamecock in the 200-yard IM, taking first place with a time of 1:49.42.
The last race of the day was the 400-yard freestyle relay. Carolina placed first with a collective time of 3:05.56.
WOMEN’S RECAP
After taking second in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:43.90, the Gamecocks took second, third and fourth in the 1000-yard freestyle. Sarah Smith finished the race in 10:14.74 for second, Taylor Worrell swam a time of 10:17.19 for third and Megan Carlson took fourth with a time of 10:18.67.
Emma Barksdale led the Gamecocks in the 200-yard freestyle, finished third in a time of 1:49.31. Emily Cornell placed fourth in the 100-yard backstroke after swimming a time of 56.47.
Kersten Dirrane and Marissa DelGado each took third in the next two events. Dirrane swam a time of 1:02.85 in the 100-yard breaststroke, while Delgado posted a time of 2:05.47 in the 200-yard butterfly.
Julia Vincent highlighted the women divers after taking first in both the 3-meter dive and the 1-meter dive. Vincent posted a score of 318.45 in the 3-meter and 339.90 in the 1-meter dive.
Edith Lingmann swam into second place in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 51.59, with teammate Meredith Vay close behind at third with a time of 52.17.
Carolina took two podium spots in the 50-yard freestyle. Christina Lappin earned first place with a time of 23.94, followed by McKenna Keith in second after swimming a time of 24.02.
Emily Cornell earnred second place in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:00.21, followed by Maggie Langdale in third with a time of 2:04.97.
Dirrane claimed another second-place finish for Carolina after swimming a time of 2:14.88 in the 200-yard breaststroke, with Emma Barksdale in third with a time of 2:15.18.
Sarah Smith led Carolina in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing second with a time of 4:58.71. Heather Merritt followed in at third after swimming a time of 4:58.93.
Lappin took second place in the 100-yard butterfly after swimming a time of 56.11, followed by Jordan MacDonald at third with a time of 56.70.
The Gamecock women swept the top three spots in the 200-yard IM, with Barksdale taking first with a time of 2:01.33, followed by Dirrane at 2:06.18 and Albury Higgs claimed third with a time of 2:07.70. South Carolina finished strong in the 400-yard freestyle relay, taking first and second place to round out the evening.
UP NEXT FOR CAROLINA
The Gamecock women are back in action on November 4 as they head to Fayetteville, Ark. to take on Arkansas, before joining the men for the Georgia Tech Invite Nov. 17-19 in Atlanta.
