Nov. 17, 2011
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The South Carolina swimming and diving teams had a strong showing in the preliminaries on the opening day at the Nike Cup Invitational at Koury Natatorium on Thursday.
The Gamecocks sent 22 individuals to tonight’s finals.
In the women’s 500-yard freestyle, junior Matea Peteh advanced to the B-final with a time of 5:01.66. Freshman Annika Jonsson (5:02.23), junior Whitney Avers (5:02.24) and junior Lindsey Olson (5:05.24) all posted times that qualified for the C-final.
Junior Brooks Ross advanced to the championship final in the men’s 500 freestyle with an eighth-place finish in a time of 4:34.66. Fellow junior Matt Columbus narrowly missed making the championship final, as his time of 4:34.76 was good enough for ninth place and a spot in the B-final. Sophomore Gerard Rodriguez also advanced to the B-final with a time of 4:36.61.
The Gamecocks placed three women in tonight’s 200 IM finals. Sophomore Rachael Schaffer posted a time of 2:04.22 to advance to the B-final. Senior Aileen Atzhorn (2:08.24) and sophomore Abby Galbreath (2:08.27) both advanced to the C-final.
In the men’s 200 IM, junior Collin Kaden finished eighth to qualify for the A-final in a time of 1:52.50. Sophomore Matt Navata posted a personal best of 1:52.85 to finish ninth and advance to the B-final, while senior James Crawford advanced to the C-final with a time of 1:55.34.
Five Gamecock women advanced to the 50 freestyle finals. Freshman Rachel Elliott led the way with a fourth-place finish in a time of 23.89 to qualify for the A-final. Sophomore Lauren Raczkowski advanced to the B-final in a time of 24.38. Freshman Morgan Brooks (24.40, PR), freshman Maggie Malaney (24.61, PR) and sophomore Taylor Josserand (24.65) advanced to the C-final.
Juniors Andrew Seiler and Max Heinze posted times of 20.99 and 21.02, respectively, in the men’s 50 freestyle to advance to the B-final. Sophomore Jacob White (21.17, PR) and senior Rory Grigull (21.22) advanced to the C-final.
The finals get underway tonight at 6 p.m. at the Koury Natatorium. Live results are available at tarheelblue.com.
