Feb. 22, 2002

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. –
“We got better yesterday and I think we will continue to swim better each day,” said USC head swimming coach Don Gibb. “Our relays were good and I think we improved on our marks.”

On the first day of competition, USC broke school records in three of four events. The women’s 800 freestyle relay team (Heather Skaggs, Jennifer VanAssen, Bronwyn Dedekind and Kristen Butler)broke last year’s record mark, swimming a time of 7:20.97. The men’s squad broke school records in both events they competed in. The 200 medley relay team of Lir Derieg, Istvan Bathazi, Zsolt Gaspar, and Chris McCrary broke an 11-year old record with a time of 1:29.38. The men’s squad (Zsolt Gaspar, Tamas Szucs, Javier Botello, Istvan Bathazi) also broke the 800 freestyle relay mark from 1987. The foursome finished third in the SEC with a time of 6:28.11. In the 800 free relay, senior Zsolt Gaspar surpassed his old record in the 200 freestyle, finishing with a split time of 1:35.82.

Yesterday the Gamecocks broke three more records at the Arkansas Natatorium. The women’s 200 freestyle relay team (Anna Nyiry, Heather Skaggs, Amy Vinson, Carolynn McHugh) broke a nine-year old mark, finishing with a time of 1:32.26. Following suit, the men’s squad (Zsolt Gaspar, Chris McCrary, Javier Botello, Ed Murphy) came out and also broke the 200 freestyle relay record of 11 years. Sophomore Istvan Bathazi also broke his old mark in the 200 individual medley,with a time of 1:47.22.