Oct. 4, 2007

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Under first-year swimming coach McGee Moody and veteran diving coach Todd Sherritt, the University of South Carolina men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will host Virginia Tech in their season opener this Friday at the Carolina Natatorium at 5 p.m.

Coach Moody and his squad aim for a top-five finish in the SEC this season, returning a number of top letterwinners from a year ago. On the men’s side, Andy Atzhorn, Dom Lendjel and Kyle Cormier, an All-American from last season, all return to the pool for the Gamecocks in 2007. Cormier, recovering from a knee injury, is currently training for the Olympic Trials.

For the women, Christy Williams and Carly Hensel look to continue successful USC careers in 2007, while Sharntelle McClain, one of USC’s top sprint swimmers, will take a medical redshirt to train for the Olympics.

“We are really aiming for a top-five finish in the SEC,” Moody said. “We have a lot of obstacles to overcome, but we have a very strong group of young men and women who are up to the challenge.

“The SEC is the top swimming conference in the nation. We have to continue to make our athletes perform better each time out and work to attract the top swimming talent in the world to South Carolina. If you can put together a team that can win an SEC Championship, you are going to be one of the favorites for an NCAA title.”

Action gets underway at the Natatorium at 5 p.m. Please visit gamecocksonline.com for complete coverage of Carolina swimming and diving.