Jan. 19, 2002
LEXINGTON, Ky. –
The South Carolina women’s swimming and diving team earned victories over Kentucky and Arkansas, Saturday afternoon in Lexington. The Gamecocks defeated Arkansas 148-95 and upended Kentucky 122-120. The No. 9 South Carolina men’s squad was upset by Kentucky 124-119.
“I was proud of our women’s team and their ability to hang in there and finish very well for us after a slow start,” said USC Head Swimming Coach Don Gibb. “Our men’s squad is still small and in a dual meet the odds are against us and not an indication of how we will perform at the SEC and NCAA Championships. We are still a month away (from SEC Championships) and we still need to fine-tune some things. I think we are still improved and we will improve at the conference meet and at the NCAA level.”
Sophomore Anna Nyiry continued her success in freestyle and butterfly winning both the 50 freestyle (23.61) and 100 butterfly (2:04.37). Also earning individual heat victories for the Gamecocks was freshman Capi Adams in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:22.51. Adams and junior Kristen Butler finished 1-2 in the 200 IM with times of 2:08.14 and 2:08.39 respectively. Freshman Heather Skaggs took home a first place finish in the 100 butterfly with a time of 52.20. The Gamecocks also won the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:28.24. On the relay for the Gamecocks was Skaggs, Nyiry, Butler and freshman Carolynn McHugh. USC also had success on the diving board, winning both the one-meter and three-meter events. Freshmen Tracey Richardson and Allison Brennan finished 1-2 on the three-meter board. Richardson scored 287.10, while Brennan finished a close second with a score of 286.80. Sophomore Holly Hodges won the one-meter board with a score of 290.35.
The USC men’s team had several top performances, despite the dual meet loss. Senior Zsolt Gaspar and sophomore Chris McCrary finished 1-2 in the 50 freestyle. Gaspar placed first with a time of 20.36 and McCrary was second with a time of 20.97. Gaspar and McCrary also each picked up wins in the 100 freestyle and 200 butterfly. Gaspar earned a first place finish in the 100 free with a time of 44.62, while McCrary finished on top in the 200 fly with a time of 1:50.34. Sophomores Istvan Bathazi and Tamas Szucs also each earned two victories on the afternoon. Batahizi placed first in both the 1650 freestyle (16:11.48) and 200 IM (1:51.48). Szucs came out in front in the 200 freestyle (1:39.26) and 500 freestyle (4:32.40). On the 200 freestyle, Szucs placed first with senior Javier Botello finishing second (1:39.96). In diving, senior Brandon Hulko earned two third-place finishes on the one-meter and three-meter board. Hulko scored a 311.15 on the one-meter and a 311.00 on the three-meter. Carolina is back at home on Jan. 26 with an 11 a.m. meet vs. Virginia.
