Feb. 25, 2004
Athens, Ga – The University of South Carolina Swimming and Diving teams finished up the first day of competition in Athens, Ga. on a high note with 3 top 3 finishes. The South Carolina women’s squad sits in fourth place after day one with the men’s team in sixth place.
In the women’s 50 yard freestyle consolation final, Heather Skaggs (23.05), Carolynn McHugh (23.16) and Ashleigh Bastak (23.09) finished 10th, 12th, and 14th respectively. Both McHugh and Bastak had personal bests with these times and all three met NCAA “B” qualifying.
For the men, Senior, Istvan Bathazi continued his leadership with a 3rd place finish in the 400 yard Individual Medley. His time of 3:46.69 was his personal best of the year and was also an NCAA “A” qualifying time. The men’s 800 Free Relay finished 3rd tonight as well. Comprised of Tamas Szucs, Tamas Bathazi, Colby Mack, and Istvan Bathazi, the team set a new personal best for the season with a time of 6:30.68.
The Gamecocks had two divers finish in the top 3 with Allison Brennan taking 2nd place in the 1 meter and Andy Bradley taking 3rd place in the 3 meter. Lauren King finished in 7th place which Head Coach Todd Sherritt was impressed with. “Lauren has just come off of having surgery in October and has only been back in the pool for a month. For her to come here and perform this well is incredible”. Sherritt also has high expectations for Bradley. “Andy is strong and acrobatic which gives him an edge. He can hit the hard dives” stated Sherritt. Brennan came back from an 8th place finish in the prelims to finish 2nd.
Action begins tomorrow morning at 10:30 with finals starting at 6:30 p.m.
Team Results
Men: 1. Auburn 233; 2. Florida 158; 3. Georgia 128; 4. Tennessee 86; 5. Kentucky 78; 6. South Carolina 69; T7. LSU, Alabama 52.
Women: 1. Auburn 229; 2. Florida 155; 3. Georgia 140; 4. South Carolina 77; 5. Alabama 71; T6. LSU, Arkansas 57; 8. Tennessee 56; 9. Kentucky 32.
