March 30, 2003

Austin, Texas – The South Carolina men’s swimming and diving team finished 20th at the NCAA Championships, the squad’s third Top 20 finish in four years. Carolina finished with 31 points in the event with sophomore diver Andy Bradley and junior swimmer Tamas Szucs leading the way for the Gamecocks. Auburn earned the men’s championship and finished the year sweeping at the national level both the men’s and women’s championships.

With the 20th place finish, South Carolina earned two Top 25 spots with the men’s and women’s squads. The South Carolina women’s team placed 24th last week at the NCAA Championships, the highest finish by the women’s squad in four years. This is the first time that the men’s and women’s programs have each been in the Top 25 since the 1990-91 season. Entering next year at Carolina, the men’s and women’s programs lose only two seniors to graduation with a majority of swimmers and divers returning. The Gamecocks finished the year with five swimmers and divers earning All-American honors. Bradley, Szucs, women’s divers Lauren King and Tracey Richardson and women’s swimmer Jennifer VanAssen earned the honors for USC. All five return next year to USC.

Bradley earned two All-American honors with a second place finish on the one-meter board and a seventh place finish on the three-meter board. Bradley’s results were the best in USC history by a men’s diver.

Szucs, the 2001 SEC champion in the 200 freestyle, earned his first honorable mention All-American honors with his 15th place finish in the 200 freestyle. Szucs finished the prelim with a time of 1:36.52, just eight one hundredths off his career best time of 1:36.44 and finished the final with a time of 1:36.97.