Feb. 20, 2009
AUBURN, Ala. – Two Carolina men’s records and two Gamecock women’s records went down Friday morning in preliminaries of the SEC Swimming & Diving Championships at the Martin Aquatic Center on the campus of Auburn University. Seven Gamecock swimmers – five men, two women – will return Friday night for finals in their respective events, and sophomore Allison Barr qualified for the evening’s finals in the platform diving competition.
“The guys had a great morning,” head coach McGee Moody said. “We’ve got guys coming back in every event; we just need to go faster tonight than we did this morning. Today is the weakest day on the schedule for our women, but we still managed to get two back tonight.”
While the Gamecock swimmers were breaking records, arguably the most remarkable performance came in the platform diving preliminaries when sophomore Allison Barr snuck into the top eight, nailing her final dive to finish at 239.55, a scant .20 points ahead of the ninth-place finisher. In the only platform diving competition for a Gamecock diver this year, Barr earned an NCAA Zone qualifying score and has a chance to compete for an SEC title tonight.
For perspective – South Carolina does not have a 10-meter platform in its aquatics facility, only a five-meter tower. And the Gamecocks had practiced on a 10-meter platform a total of four times all season.
“What can you say?” head diving coach Todd Sherritt said. “Allison’s a fantastic competitor. She has completely exceeded my expectations in this meet and I’m incredibly proud of her. Imagine how great she would be at this event if we could practice it every day.”
On the swimming side, Kyle Cormier’s time of 1:34.99 in the 200 freestyle lowered his school record as he swam what was, at the time, the 10th fastest time in the country this season. He will go into his second championship final of the week as the fourth qualifier, just behind Florida’s Shaune Fraser, Tennessee’s Jonas Persson and Kentucky’s Tyler Reed.
“Kyle had a great swim, but he could go even lower tonight,” Moody said. “He’s been an amazing competitor this week.”
Also for the Carolina men, Nicholas Walkotten had a pair of personal bests, breaking the school record in the 100 backstroke with an NCAA `B’ time of 48.53, snapping a 21-year-old record previously set by Drew Ruggieri in 1988. His time was just good enough to slip into the consolation final as the 16th qualifier. Walkotten will also swim the consolation final of the 100 butterfly as he lowered his personal best mark by nearly two-tenths of a second with a 47.20, giving him the 10th spot in the evening finals.
Andrew Atzhorn turned in a career-best performance in the 400-yard individual medley, earning an NCAA `B’ cut and a spot in the consolation final with a 3:52.36. And freshman Armin Hornikel will swim in his first individual final at an SEC Championship with his personal-best time of 54.77 in the 100 breaststroke, which is just .05 seconds short of an NCAA provisional time and about half a second shy of the school record.
For the Gamecock women, Amanda Dunnigan broke the eight-year-old school record in the 400 IM by nearly three seconds with a time of 4:15.48, surpassing Tricia Rye’s mark of 4:18.26 from the 2001 SEC Championships. She earned the ninth qualifying spot, just missing the championship final by .18 seconds.
Claire Thompson will be the other Gamecock woman in tonight’s finals as she posted an NCAA `B’ cut time of 1:47.91 to claim the 15th spot in preliminaries and entry to the consolation finals. It was a few tenths of a second short of her personal best.
“Amanda Dunnigan was incredible in the 400 IM,” Moody said. “And like everyone else, she can go faster tonight. Claire will be back in the 200 free, and her best swims are ahead of her.”
Megan Sparks was the other Gamecock to break a school record, lowering her own mark in the 100 backstroke to 54.74 seconds. But it was not quite enough to sneak into the event’s consolation finals as it took 54.42 to return for the evening session.
Finals get underway at 6 p.m. Central time, beginning with the 400 individual medley. That will be followed by the 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, women’s platform diving, and the 400 medley relay. Live results are available through AuburnTigers.com.
SOUTH CAROLINA PRELIMINARIES RESULTS -- FRIDAYMen's 400 Individual MedleyAndrew Atzhorn 3:52.36b 12th (B Final) PRChris Kelly 3:57.58 22nd PRRyan Connolly 4:01.67 exh PR
Women's 400 Individual MedleyAmanda Dunnigan 4:15.30!b 9th (B Final) PRAlyssa Hand 4:33.95 24th PRAileen Atzhorn 4:36.67 26th
Men's 100 ButterflyNicholas Walkotten 47.20b 10th (B Final) PRTodd Weyandt 46.69 24th PRIsaac Badillo 49.99 27th PRDavid Livsey 50.06 28th PR
Women's 100 ButterflySharntelle McLean 55.56 23rd PRKristina Delp 57.16 29th PRKelly Kirchler 57.45 31st PRShaylyn Blake 57.53 32ndBridget Halligan 58.18 36th PR
Men's 200 FreestyleKyle Cormier 1:34.99!b 4th (A Final) PRJames Crawford 1:38.27 23rdRory Grigull 1:41.74 31stTrey Tharpe 1:41.95 32nd PRRyan Langley 1:42.01 33rd PRJosh Klotz 1:43.12 35th PRSteven Luckie 1:43.82 37th PR
Women's 200 FreestyleClaire Thompson 1:47.91 15th (B Final)Lindsey Olson 1:48.49 17th (1st Alt.) PRChristine Thompso 1:50.69 26thKassy Kugler 1:50.77 27th PR
Men's 100 BreaststrokeBrett Sexton 1:00.28 exhArmin Hornikel 54.77 T-11th (B Final) PR
Women's 100 BreaststrokeMallory Cage 1:05.26 31st PRSherah Aiken 1:07.80 exhLydia Hackert 1:04.98 29th
Men's 100 BackstrokeTrey Tharpe 51.38 28th PRIsaac Badillo 51.54 27th PRHam Hollett 51.28 26th PRNicholas Walkotten 48.53!b 16th (B Final) PR
Women's 100 BackstrokeMeridith McKee 59.83 exhSarah Bartlett 59.50 31st PRMegan Sparks 54.74!b 19th PR
Women's Platform DivingAllison Barr 239.55z 8th
