Oct. 23, 2008
COLUMBIA – For the second week in a row, South Carolina swimming & diving welcomes an opponent ranked in the nation’s top 15 as the Virginia Cavaliers visit the Carolina Natatorium for a 2 p.m. dual meet Friday. It will be the season opener for Virginia, whose men are ranked No. 15 in the latest College Swimming Coaches Association of America ratings, while the Cavalier women are 10th.
Carolina’s men and women both enter the meet at 0-1 after falling to nationally ranked North Carolina last Friday. Despite the loss, however, the Gamecocks had numerous high points in the meet, most notably in the diving well.
Sophomore Taryn Zack enters the meet as the reigning SEC Diver of the Week and South Carolina AgSouth Athlete of the Week after her performance against the Tar Heels. She registered NCAA Zone qualifying scores in both the one- and three-meter events, scoring a 284.17 on the one-meter and a 314.10 in the three-meter competion. In addition, freshman Helen Alvey and sophomore Allison Barr both qualified for NCAA Zones in the one-meter with scores of 273.08 and 272.78, respectively.
Several Gamecock swimmers will look to improve on personal records set in the UNC meet. On the men’s side, Ryan Langley shaved nearly three seconds off his personal best in the 100 backstroke with a leadoff leg of 56.90 in the 400 medley relay, and Trey Tharpe set PRs in the 200 freestyle (1:42.92) and the 200 IM (1:57.71). For the Gamecock women, senior Amanda Dunnigan continues to improve on her top times with a 1:04.34 in the 100 breaststroke, nearly a second and a half better than her previous best. Junior Meridith McKee and sophomore Megan Sparks continue to impress after both setting PRs in the 200 backstroke, with McKee finishing in 2:09.93 and Sparks touching in 2:00.58.
South Carolina will look to get great swims from numerous freshmen as well. James Crawford was the most impressive of the newcomers for the Carolina men, getting top times in a pair of relay splits as he touched in 51.17 in the 100 back and 47.26 in the 100 free. For the women, Lindsey Olson looks to make another big impact after having great swims in both butterfly events against North Carolina.
Virginia’s men and women both captured their respective ACC Championships last season. The women finished the season with an 8-2 dual meet record and a top-20 finish at the NCAA Championships while the men were 7-3.
One-meter diving gets underway at 1 p.m. with the swimming portion of the meet set to commence at 2 p.m. Live results will be available through Sports Timing by following the link at GamecocksOnline.com.
