Oct. 12, 2007

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina men’s (0-1) and women’s (0-1) swimming and diving teams are set to host SEC rival LSU on Saturday at the Carolina Natatorium. The meet is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. The LSU men enter weekend action with an 0-1 record, while Saturday’s meet marks the season opener for the women. The Carolina swimming teams are led by first-year head coach McGee Moody, while the diving squads are directed by veteran head coach Todd Sherritt. Both the men’s and women’s teams fell in their respective season openers last week to Virginia Tech.

“We have had a good week of practice and I am expecting to see some good performances from our men and women,” Moody said. “This is our first SEC competition and LSU is a great program, there should be some great races.”

Swimming Recap – Virginia Tech
The Carolina men’s 200-yard medley relay team of Andrew Atzahorn, Michael Lawrence, Dominique Lendjel and Nicholas Olson captured first place in the season-opening event with a time of 1:36.24, while the women’s team of Megan Sparks, Megan D’Urso, Christy Williams and Kassy Kuger took second with a mark of 1:47.25.

In the women’s 1000 freestyle swim, Gamecock distance swimmer Christine Thompson took first with a time of 10:10.77, while on the men’s side, Steven Luckie was the top USC finisher with a second-place showing of 9:46.59. The Gamecocks swept the 200-yard freestyle swim, as Claire Thompson took the top spot in 1:50.41 and Christian Kata captured the men’s title in 1:43.50.

Claire Thompson captured the top spot for the Carolina women in the 500-yard freestyle in a time of 4:58.39, followed by sister Christine Thompson in second with a finish of 4:59.62. Luckie posted the top spot for the men with a second-place showing in 4:43.58 in the same event. Lendjel captured the top spot for the men in the 200-yard IM with a finish of 1:52.38, followed by Atzhorn in second with a mark of 1:55.61 for a strong showing from Carolina in the event.

Diving Recap – Virginia Tech
The Carolina diving team finished strong in the opening event of the meet, as both the men’s and women’s competitors took two of the top three finishing places in the one-meter diving event. For the USC women, Taryn Zack captured the top spot with a total of 336.45 points, while teammate Allison Barr took second with a score of 290.78. On the men’s side, David Ovelson took second with a score of 362.25, while Christian Cory took third with a total of 330.68.

In the three-meter event, Zack claimed the top spot in the women’s three-meter event with a total of 311.55. Barr finished third with a score of 295.65, just over one point behind Virginia Tech’s Sarah Milton in second (296.78). For the Gamecock men, Cory finished a strong meet with a second-place finishing with a total of 337.20 points.