Nov. 29, 2007

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina swimming and diving teams will travel to the Alabama Classic and Ohio State Invite, respectively, this weekend. The competition marks the first for Carolina since Nov. 3. Leading the Gamecock women is senior Christy Williams. Williams, who most recently captured an NCAA B cut qualifying mark in the 200 butterfly event against the Tigers, leads a strong squad into weekend competition. On the men’s side, Dominique Lendjel aims to continue a strong season in the water. He tallied two first-place finishes against the Tigers. Leading the Carolina divers on the board is David Ovelson. Ovelson recorded first-place showings in both the one- and three- meter events against Clemson. On the women’s side, freshman Taryn Zack looks to capture her second-consecutive first-place finish this weekend in Columbus.

Clemson Meet Notes
The Thompson duo swept two of the top three spots in the 1000-yard freestyle swim, 200-yard free and the 50-yard freestyle events. Claire captured first in all three events, posting times of 10:03.95, 1:50.40 and 4:55.89, respectively. Twin sister Christine finished second in all three with times of 10:06.91, 1:52.37 and 4:59.30, respectively. Both posted season-best marks in the 1000-yard event, while Claire’s 500-yard freestyle mark was also a season low. Also for the Gamecock women, Christy Williams captured the top spot in both the 100- and 200-yard butterfly events, posting season-best times of 55.96 and 2:00.70. Her mark in the 200 race was an NCAA B Cut qualifying time. Williams also took first in the 200-yard IM (2:05.81). The women’s diving team swept the top three spots in the one-meter event, led by Taryn Zack (289.13) in first, followed by Allison Barr (279.98) and Sarah Mory (262.20). Zack (279.22) and Barr (250.20) also finished first and second, respectively, in the three-meter. For the Gamecock men, Dominique Lendjel continued a strong season, finishing first in the 100-yard backstroke (50.93), first in the 200-yard IM (1:52.16) and second in the 100-yard freestyle event (46.31). For the Gamecock divers, David Ovelson (285.60) took first and Cory Christian (280.12) finished second in the one-meter dive, while Ovelson (307.50) followed with a first-place showing in the three-meter.

Kentucky/Tennessee Tri-Meet Meet Notes
David Ovelson tallied 314.00 points to win the men’s one-meter diving event in last week’s tri-meet against Tennessee and Kentucky. The win marked his second victory of the season in that event. Ovelson followed his top spot in the one-meter with a second-placing showing in the three-meter event, collecting 327.75 points. Dominique Lendjel posted the top Gamecock time of the season in the 200-yard backstroke. His 1:52.57 placed him third in the event. Lendjel also placed third in the men’s 200 IM, posting a time of 1:55.37. Freshman twins Claire (10:04.52) and Christine (10:14.20) Thompson finished second and third, respectively, in the women’s 1000 freestyle event in last week’s tri-meet against SEC foes Kentucky and Tennessee. Claire’s time was the top Gamecock mark this season in the event. Christine Thompson also turned in a strong performance in the 500-yard freestyle event against the Vols and Wildcats, finishing third in a time of 5:03.72. The women’s divers competed well in last week’s conference battle. Taryn Zack continued a stellar freshman season, finishing second in the one-meter (269.15) and third in the three-meter (270.45) event. Allison Barr also competed for the Gamecocks, finishing fifth in the one-meter (226.55) and seventh in the three-meter (221.95) dive.

LSU Meet Notes
Claire Thompson and Christy Williams led the way for the Carolina women posting three first-place finishes each. Thompson won the 200-, 500-, and 1000-yard freestyle events, while Williams swept the butterfly events, winning the 100- and 200-yard races. Williams picked up her third win of the day in the 200-yard individual medley (2:05.86). Christine Thompson also had a strong day, posting two second-place finishes in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle. Kassy Kugler also picked up a win in the 50-yard freestyle (24.03) and a second-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle (52.12). In the 200-yard butterfly, Heather Roffey notched a third-place finish with a time of 206.65. In diving, Gamecock freshmen Taryn Zack and Allison Barr dominated in both the one- and three-meter events. Barr picked up the win in the one-meter with a score of 254.63 with Zack finishing third with a mark of 241.86. Zack won the three-meter (289.28), while Barr finished second (270.08). On the men’s side, Steven Luckie was the most consistent for Carolina. Luckie had three third-place finishes (500-yard freestyle -4:45.02, 1,000-yard freestyle-9:48.35, 200-yard butterfly-1:53.07). Dominique Lendjel placed second in the 200-yard freestyle (1:41.14). In the 100-yard backstroke, Christian Kata placed third with a time of 53.11. Diver Cory Christian had a big day, winning the three-meter (321.45) event and placing third in the one-meter (291.45). David Ovelson picked up the win for the Gamecocks in the one-meter with a score of 340.05.

Virginia Tech Meet Notes
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. 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.