Oct. 29, 2011
Greenville, S.C. – The South Carolina swimming and diving teams swept rival Clemson on Saturday in the programs’ last-ever meeting.
The Gamecock men claimed a 162-137 victory to improve to 2-2 on the season, while the Carolina women won 191-108 to move to 3-1 overall.
With the Tigers phasing out their program at the end of the season, the Gamecocks recorded wins to end a series that dates back to 1923.
“This was the best racing I have seen from us on the road in a long time,” South Carolina head coach McGee Moody said. “We were sharp from the beginning. We will talk about things we need to work on and start preparing for Tennessee. I am disappointed that the rivalry is over.”
The Gamecocks won 19 of the 32 events on the day, including two wins apiece from sophomores Rachael Schaffer and Amanda Rutqvist and juniors Matea Peteh and Bobby Cave.
Carolina had another dominant performance in the distance events. The Gamecocks claimed the top four spots in the women’s 1,000 freestyle, the top two spots in the men’s 1,000 free, the top two places in the women’s 500 free and the top three in the men’s 500 free.
Sophomore Abby Galbreath captured the women’s 1,000 free with a time of 10:24.53, followed by teammates Lindsey Olson (10:26.35), Jordan Gibbs (10:26.35) and Charlotte Ward (10:52.86).
Junior Brooks Ross claimed the top spot in the men’s 1,000 freestyle in a time of 9:29.31, while junior Matt Columbus finished second in 9:35.61.
Schaffer grabbed first in the 500 free with a time of 5:04.65, with teammate Annika Jonsson finishing second in a time of 5:05.91.
In the men’s 500 freestyle, Columbus picked up the win with a time of 4:39.01, followed by Ross (4:29.02) and sophomore Gerard Rodriguez (4:39.60).
Schaffer earned her second win of the day in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:53.26, while Rodriguez finished first for Carolina in the men’s event with a time of 1:40.97.
Peteh swept the backstroke events as she won the 100 with a time of 58.05 and the 200 in a time of 2:03.65.
The Gamecocks won all four breaststroke events. Rutqvist finished first in the women’s 100 and 200 breaststroke with times of 1:04.98 and 2:20.12, respectively. Cave won the men’s events with a time of 57.88 in the 100 and 2:05.57 in the 200.
Junior Whitney Avers finished first in the women’s 200 butterfly with a time of 2:04.89, while sophomore Matt Navata placed first in the men’s event in a time of 1:52.40.
Senior Isaac Badillo won the 100 butterfly for the Gamecocks in a time of 49.70.
The Gamecocks return to action on Friday, Nov. 4 as they host Tennessee in their final home meet of the fall. The meet is slated to begin at 2 p.m. at the Blatt P.E. Center/Carolina Natatorium.
