Feb. 19, 2005

GAINESVILLE, Fla.– South Carolina freshman Christy Williams set a new school record today in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:59.41. She broke the previous record of 2:00.87, set by Anna Nyiry in 2002, by more than a second at the Southeastern Conference Championships in Gainesville, Fla.

Williams had a slow start off the blocks, but finished strong to place her first in the consolation finals. Her ninth overall finish was the highest for a South Carolina individual at this year’s SEC Championships.

“We finished up better,” said head coach Don Gibb. “Christy Williams set that school record and I’m real proud of our freshman-dominated program.”

The women’s team placed fifth overall with 257 points while the men finished in eighth with 160 points. Auburn won the women’s title for the third-straight year with 816 points, edging Georgia by just seven. Auburn’s men won the SEC title for the ninth-straight year with 829.5 points.

The men’s team had two swimmers place in the grueling 1650-yard freestyle event. Freshman Dan White placed 15th overall after cutting his season-best mark 13 seconds to 15:38.39. Junior Tim Farrington finished one spot behind in 16th with his own season-best time of 15:44.01. The third Gamecock swimmer in White and Farrington’s heat, freshman Kevin Cargill, swam a time of 15:59.88 to place 20th. Rounding out the event was junior Michael Farrington, who posted a time of 16:21.38 to take 23rd place.

For the women, freshman Heather Roffey led a group of five South Carolina swimmers in the 1650-yard freestyle. Roffey grabbed 10th place with a time of 16:46.30 while freshmen Mallory Deighan placed 14th at 17:08.35 and Lauren Fayssoux took 16th with a time of 17:17.53 to round out that event’s scoring for the Gamecocks. Freshman Kelli Hobbs dropped her season-best time by more than 17 seconds to 17:19.05 and placed 18th. Exhibition swimmer, sophomore Kaelon May, dropped more than 11 seconds off her best mark with a swim of 17:29.67.

The only Gamecock in the 200-yard backstroke was freshman Sean Murray who placed 16th with a time of 1:51.06. In the championship finals, junior Ryan Lochte of Florida broke Aaron Peirsol’s American record and NCAA record by almost a full second with his swim of 1:38.29.

In the 200-yard breaststroke, freshman Carly Hensel kept her spot in 14th place by improving on her preliminary time with a swim of 2:19.59. Teammate Mandee Cregar was not as lucky, as she dropped a place to 16th with a time of 2:21.08.

Kentucky’s Chris Collins edged junior Tamas Bathazi by one tenth of a second to spoil his bid for 15th place. Bathazi remained in 16th by improving his preliminary time to 1:50.00. For the women, freshman Heather Roffey’s time of 2:01.55 was good for fifth place in the consolation finals and 13th overall.

In the final event of the SEC Championships, the Gamecock men’s 400 freestyle relay, made up of junior Reid Duff, freshman Christian Robledo, sophomore Colby Mack and anchor swimmer White, placed sixth with a season-best time of 3:00.32. The women’s 400-yard relay placed fifth overall, as a strong effort from senior Carolynn McHugh, junior Haley Skaggs, sophomore Auyna Nance and anchor Williams gave them a season-best and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 3:22.38. Their time places them second on the all-time school record list for the women’s 400 free relay. Georgia’s women’s 400 free relay broke the American record and NCAA record with a time of 3:13.47.

“Now we’ve got to head back to Columbia and get back to work,” stated Gibb. “But I’m happy that we finished up on a high note with Christy’s record and our relays.”

TEAM RESULTS

Men
1. Auburn 829.5
2. Florida 801.5
3. Georgia 542
4. Kentucky 426
5. Alabama 340.5
6. Tennessee 303
7. Louisiana State 189.5
8. South Carolina 160

Women
1. Auburn 816
2. Georgia 809
3. Florida 659
4. Kentucky 339
5. South Carolina 257
6. Alabama 238
7. Tennessee 217
8. Louisiana State 181
9. Arkansas 147

MEN’S RESULTS

1650-yard freestyle
1. Sebastian Rouault Georgia 14:41.20*
15. Dan White S. Carolina 15:38.39
16. Tim Farrington S. Carolina 15:44.01
20. Kevin Cargill S. Carolina 15:59.88
23. Mike Farrington S. Carolina 16:21.38

200-yard backstroke
1. Ryan Lochte Florida 1:38.29**
16. Sean Murray S. Carolina 1:51.06

100-yard freestyle
1. Fred Bousquet Auburn :42.81

200-yard breaststroke
1. Vladislav Polyakov Alabama 1:55.09*

200-yard butterfly
1. Daniel Cruz Kentucky 1:42.86
16. Tamas Bathazi S. Carolina 1:50.00

400-yard freestyle relay
1. Florida 2:50.68*
6. South Carolina 3:00.32
-Duff, Robledo,
Mack, White

WOMEN’S RESULTS

1650-yard freestyle
1. Adrienne Binder Auburn 15:50.00*
10. Heather Roffey S. Carolina 16:46.30
14. Mallory Deighan S. Carolina 17:08.35
16. Lauren Fayssoux S. Carolina 17:17.53
18. Kelli Hobbs S. Carolina 17:19.05
X- Kaelon May S. Carolina 17:29.67

200-yard backstroke
1. Kirsty Coventry Auburn 1:51.43*

100-yard freestyle
1. Kara Lynn Joyce Georgia :47.87

200-yard breaststroke
1. Anne Poleska Alabama 2:10.50
14. Carly Hensel S. Carolina 2:19.59
16. Mandee Cregar S. Carolina 2:21.08

200-yard butterfly
1. Mary DeScenza Georgia 1:53.51*
9. Christy Williams S. Carolina 1:59.41***
13. Heather Roffey S. Carolina 2:01.55

400-yard freestyle relay
1. Georgia 3:13.47**
5. South Carolina 3:22.38
-McHugh, Skaggs,
Nance, Williams

*Denotes new SEC record
**Denotes new American and NCAA record
***Denotes new University of South Carolina school record