Jan. 16, 2014

COLUMBIA, S.C. – After a strong debut to the opening of the winter slate of their schedule, both the men’s and women’s South Carolina swimming and diving teams were rewarded for their efforts after a 49-day layoff from competition. The women are currently ranked No. 19 in the Endless Pools Top 25, while the me come in at No. 23.

“This is a great accomplishment for our women,” head swimming and diving coach McGee Moody said. “We’re excited to see them in the top 25. The men have been in the top 25 pretty consistently, but this is the first time that our women have broken into the rankings. We’ll continue to keep working and improving as we move toward the SEC Championships next month.”

Both teams are coming off of dominating wins over Duke last Saturday at the Carolina Natatorium with the Gamecock men claiming their win with a score of 184-116, while the women won 167-133. The women got three wins from junior Victoria Mitchell, while sophomore Lauren Lamendola took two wins with a sweep in the diving events. The men were led by redshirt senior Michael Flach who picked up three wins. Sophomore Marwan El Kamash and redshirt freshman Kevin Leithold each chipped in with two wins.

On the day, South Carolina won 19 of 32 events and claimed the top two spots in in 12 events, including 1-2-3 finishes in five events.

The Gamecocks will be back in action against Queens University and Wingate University for a two-day meet on Jan. 24-25. Day one will begin at 4 p.m., ET, while day two events will start with senior day ceremonies beginning at 9:45 a.m.