June 28, 2012
OMAHA, Neb. — South Carolina had three current swimmers and one former Gamecock competing in the preliminaries on Thursday at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials at the CenturyLink Center.
All three current Gamecocks had strong swims and finished higher than their seed. Rising sophomore Alex Vance had the most impressive swim of the three. He finished fourth in his heat and 66th overall in the men’s 200 breaststroke with a personal record of 2:19.61.
Annika Jonsson and Whitney Avers swam in the women’s 200 butterfly. Jonsson placed 116th overall with a time of 2:20.95, while Avers finished 118th with a time of 2:21.03.
“All in all it was another good morning,” South Carolina head coach McGee Moody said. “Alex Vance had his best time in the 200 breaststroke. He swam a really good race. Whitney and Annika were a little bit off as far as their best times go, but strategically it wasn’t a bad race. Whitney and Alex have a time trial this afternoon, and after that it will be time to prepare for tonight’s finals.”
Former Gamecock Kyle Cormier also swam in the preliminaries as he finished 120th overall in the 100 freestyle with a time of 51.61.
Junior Michael Flach will be in action tonight in the finals of the 200 butterfly as he vies for one of two spots up for grabs on the U.S. Olympic Team. Flach is the first Gamecock swimmer to make it to the finals of the U.S. Olympic Trials since University of South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Wade King, who finished fifth in the 100 butterfly at the 1988 Trials.
Tonight’s session will get underway at 7 CT with NBC providing live coverage until 8 CT. Flach’s championship final is scheduled to begin at approximately 7:12 CT. Live results for each event will also be available by clicking here.
Thursday, June 28
2012 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials
Omaha, Neb. – CenturyLink Center
Day 4 Preliminary Results
Men’s 100 Freestyle
120. Kyle Cormier 51.61
Women’s 200 Butterfly
116. Annika Jonsson 2:20.95
118. Whitney Avers 2:21.03
Men’s 200 Breaststroke
66. Alex Vance 2:19.61
