Feb. 1, 2014
AUBURN, Ala. – The South Carolina swimming and diving teams dropped a pair of decisions to Auburn on Saturday afternoon in an SEC dual meet at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center.
The Gamecock men fell to the 10th-ranked Tigers by the score of 170-124, wrapping up the regular season at 6-2 overall and 1-2 in the SEC. On the women’s side, Carolina lost to No. 15 Auburn, 177-118, to finish the year at 4-4 and 0-3 in the conference.
South Carolina finished the day with eight wins, with six coming in the pool and two on the boards. Sophomore Marwan El Kamash led the way for the Gamecock men as he touched first in the 1,000 freestyle with a mark of 9:25.04 and finished second in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:30.87.
“It was a tough meet,” Gamecock head swimming coach McGee Moody said following the day’s events. “It’s always hard to travel and race against Auburn. We had some very good swims and some places we have to improve on. I am sure we can get things worked out in the couple of weeks before the SEC Championships.”
Senior Michael Flach recorded a first-place finish for the Gamecocks in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:48.78, while junior Alex Vance grabbed first in the 200 breaststroke in 2:03.89. South Carolina also came up just short of wins in several races, as junior Michael Covert placed second in both the 100 backstroke (49.62) and 200 backstroke (1:49.62) and freshman Kevin Leithold took second in the 100 freestyle (44.66).
In the women’s events, junior Victoria Mitchell had a solid day to pace the Gamecocks. She claimed first in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:57.20 and finished runner-up in the 1,000 freestyle with a personal record of 10:01.26, which is the sixth fastest time in school history. Senior Amanda Rutqvist touched the wall first in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:16.78, and senior Abby Galbreath captured first in the 200 IM in 2:06.30. Junior Elisabeth Worrell placed second in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:04.37.
On the boards, the Gamecocks won two events. Junior Cole Miller took first on the three-meter springboard with a score of 382.20 and finished third on the one-meter with a score of 322.35. Junior Patricia Kranz won the women’s one-meter board with a score of 292.20 and placed second on the three-meter with an identical score of 292.20.
“We had a pretty good day today,” head diving coach Todd Sherritt said. “We split events with Auburn. Patti (Kranz) won the low board and Cole (Miller) won the three-meter. Auburn has one of the best teams in the country. I felt pretty good about today. We are in great position for conference championships.”
The Gamecocks will now begin preparations for the SEC Championships, which will be held Feb. 18-22 in Athens, Ga.
