Jan. 30, 2004
The South Carolina men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams both defeated the University of Alabama today 127-115 in what proved to be an exciting meet to the very end.
For the women, the Gamecocks won 5 of their events. Senior, Jennifer VanAssen took first in the 200 yard free style with a time of 1:49.51. Ashleigh Bastak finished in the top position in the 100 yard free style (51.65) with VanAssen coming in second (51.79). Freshman Aunya Nance finished first in the 200 yard breaststroke with a time of 2:23.15 with Kendel Fiorentino coming in close behind (2:23.39) in second. Heather Skaggs placed first in the 200 yard backstroke (2:03.51). Skaggs also had a personal best of 56.49 in the 400 yard medley relay which the Gamecocks won with the combination of Heather Skaggs, Aunya Nance, Carolyn McHugh, and Ashleigh Bastak with a time of 3:55.82 sealing the victory for South Carolina as the last event. Allison Brennan led the way for the divers finishing second in both the 1 meter and 3meter events.
On the men’s side, Istvan Bathazi and Tamas Szucs led the way with two wins each. Bathazi placed first in the 200 yard backstroke (2:03.58) and the 200 yard IM (1:51.09). Szucs took home top honors in the 500 yard free style (4:35.22) and the 200 yard free style (1:39.48). In a very exciting final event, the Gamecocks took first place in the 400 yard free style relay with the combination of Ed Murphy, Reid Duff, Tamas Szucs, and Tamas Bathazi with a time of 3:02.37. In the 1 meter diving for the men, Andy Bradley finished first (317.10) and Dean Emmerton finished second (286.20). In the 3 meter diving, the Gamecocks dominated the event taking the top three places with Bradley (331.88), Emmerton (295.88) and Ian Balman (279.98).
Coach Don Gibb was very impressed with the performances of the team today. “This is probably the best meet we have had this year. It’s great to have this on our way to the SEC Championships” stated Gibb. “We started strong and finished strong. It was a very solid performance.”
The Gamecocks have their last home meet February 7, hosting the Georgia Bulldogs.
