Jan. 27, 2009

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina made it a clean sweep of the Southeastern Conference’s weekly diving awards as senior Corry Christian and sophomore Taryn Zack were named the SEC’s Divers of the Week following their performances in last Saturday’s dual meet with the College of Charleston. The Gamecocks conclude their home schedule with at least one athlete earning SEC honors following each of the six home meets this season.

Christian made the most of his Senior Day meet, turning in a pair of career-best scores and blowing away the competition in taking first place in both events. He posted a 369.90 in the one-meter competition and exploded for a 404.33 in the three-meter event. His three-meter score left him just three points shy of four-time All-American Andy Bradley’s school record of 407.40. Christian’s score in the three-meter ranks fourth in the SEC this season.

It was the second weekly honor for Christian, who also earned SEC kudos for his performance in an early-season dual meet with Virginia.

Zack picked up her fourth SEC weekly honor, posting a 358.13 in the three-meter event to take first place in Saturday’s meet with the Cougars, giving her both the first- and second-place scores in three-meter competition in the league this year. Her score of 322.88 in the one-meter competition was good enough for a third-place finish, only two points behind teammates Allison Barr and Helen Alvey.

With this week’s awards, the Gamecocks had at least one diver named the SEC’s best following each home meet of the 2008-09 season. Included in the awards were Zack (North Carolina, Clemson, Gamecock Invitational, College of Charleston), Barr (Vanderbilt), Alvey (Virginia) and Christian (Virginia and College of Charleston).

South Carolina wraps up its 2008-09 dual meet season Saturday when it travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to face the Crimson Tide and the No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs.