Nov. 22, 2014 
CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – The South Carolina swimming team wrapped up a successful fall season with a third-place finish at the Virginia Tech Invitational on Saturday night at Christiansburg Aquatic Center.
Both the Virginia Tech men and women finished in first place with scores of 1255 and 1333, respectively. Alabama took second place in both the men (1153 points) and women’s (821 points) competition. The Gamecock men finished with 743 points while the women tallied 611.5 points.
Seniors Victoria Mitchell (third) and Charlotte Ward (5th), as well as freshman Sarah Smith (9th) all placed in the top ten in the 1650 freestyle to begin the last night of finals. In the men’s race, freshmen Tomas Periboino (15:18.03) and Travis Morrin (15:46.26) placed third and seventh, respectively.
In the women’s 200 backstroke final, Mitchell placed seventh with a time of 2:00.74. Swimming in the B final, freshman Heather Merritt (1:59.28) finished ninth and senior Elisabeth Worrell (1:59.57) placed 10th overall. Sophomore Jonathan Boland recorded a fourth-place finish for the men with an NCAA B cut time of 1:45.72 while freshman Bryce Kananowicz took sixth with a time of 1:47.69 and senior Michael Covert (1:46.86) finished ninth overall after racing in the B final.
Freshman Meredith Vay recorded her third top-three finish of the invitational, as she took second in the 100 freestyle final with a time of 50.21. Kevin Leithold (44.54) and Marwan El Kamash (45.28) finished fifth and seventh, respectively, in the men’s 100 freestyle.
In the men’s 200 breaststroke, freshman Nils Wich-Glasen finished second and set a new school record with his NCAA B Cut time of 1:55.98. Senior Alex Vance placed seventh with a time of 2:02.28. On the women’s side, freshman Brittany Oxley finished eighth with a time of 2:19.60.
Seniors Annika Jonsson (2:03.19) and Charlotte Ward (2:04.01) took seventh and eighth place, respectively, in the 200 fly final. In the men’s final, Kananowicz (1:50.70) and freshman Caleb Tosh (1:51.69) placed sixth and eighth, respectively.
The team of El Kamash, Leithold, Boland and Wich-Glasen recorded a third-place finish in the men’s 400 freestyle relay to conclude the invitational for the Gamecocks.
DIVING AT GEORIGA TECH INVITATIONAL
At ATLANTA Ga. – Senior Cole Miller led Gamecock divers on the final day of the Georgia Tech Invitational, as he won the men’s platform competition with a school-record score of 360.90. Sophomore Jordan Gotro finished fourth with a score of 318.85. On the women’s side, senior Patricia Kranz placed fifth with a score of 240.25 and freshman Marissa Roth finished 11th with a score of 209.30.
KEY STAT
Throughout the three days of competition, eight different Gamecocks recorded NCAA B cut times.
NOTABLES
• Charlotte Ward’s time of 16:47.35 in the 1650 freestyle ranks 10th all-time in school history.
• Tomas Peribonio’s NCAA B cut time of 15:18.03 is the third fastest in school history.
• Jonathan Boland recorded his second NCAA B cut of the season with a new PR of 1:45.72 in the 200 backstroke.
• Heather Merritt recorded a new PR of 1:59.28 in the 200 backstroke, which ranks seventh in school history.
• Meredith Vay set a new PR in the 100 free with a time of 50.21, her time ranks fifth all-time in school history.
• Nils Wich-Glasen set a new school record in the 200 breaststroke with his NCAA B cut time of 1:55.98. Alex Vance held the previous record of 1:56.47.
• Thomas Hang set a new PR in the 200 breaststroke with his time of 2:06.14. He finished 17th overall after swimming in the C final.
• The team of El Kamash, Leithold, Boland and Wich-Glasen finsiehd the 400 freestyle relay in 2:57.67, which is the sixth fastest time in school history.
QUOTABLE
Head swimming coach McGee Moody
“A couple of highlights from tonight were definitely Nils Wich-Glasen and Tom (Tomas) Peribonio. Nils broke the school record in the 200 breaststroke and put himself in a position to make the NCAA Championship at the end of the year. Tom had another outstanding night all around. Our relays at the end of night were great and we had great swims across the board. As a whole, I think this is the best meet we’ve had. We learned a lot about ourselves and where we stand at this point in the season.”
Head diving coach Todd Sherritt
“We had a great day. We’re usually at a disadvantage competing in platform since we don’t have a 10-meter platform at home, but we were able to have a great day and Cole (Miller) beat every school that was there. Cole did a great job and Jordan (Gotro) had a phenomenal day as well, they were both very consistent and I’m very happy with what they accomplished. Marissa (Roth) did really well in her first platform competition and Patti (Patricia Kranz) had a great day as well. The entire team this week was very consistent and this meet definitely helped to prepare us for the SEC Championship and the NCAA Championship. Everyone has been working really hard, they have a great attitude and its paying off. Overall we had a phenomenal trip.”
UP NEXT
The Gamecocks return to action on Jan. 3, 2015 when they host Georgia at Carolina Natatorium.
