Jan. 22, 2010

Complete Release in PDF Format | Live Results

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina will close out its 2009-10 home swimming and diving season on Saturday with a tri-meet against UNC Wilmington and Vanderbilt. The meet gets underway at 2 p.m. at the Carolina Natatorium in the Blatt P.E. Center.

Eight Carolina seniors – five women and three men – will be honored prior to the start of the meet. On the women’s side, Courtney Callahan, Kristina Delp, Meridith McKee, Sharntelle McLean and Morgan Ricke will see their final home meets as student-athletes, while Andrew Atzhorn, Dominique Lendjel and Trey Tharpe will be honored from the men’s side.

The Gamecock men enter the meet at 3-4 overall while the women are 1-6 on the season, 0-2 in SEC competition. Vanderbilt’s women are 1-3 overall, 0-2 in the SEC. Vanderbilt does not field a men’s team. For UNC Wilmington, the Seahawk men are 8-1 on the year while the women are 9-2 overall.

In dual-meet competition, South Carolina’s men are 3-1 all-time against UNC Wilmington; the Gamecock women are 5-0. The last meeting against the Seahawks came on Nov. 30, 2001, when the Seahawk men posted a 153-136 victory while the Gamecock women took a 230-116 decision at the Davidson Invitational. Against Vanderbilt, South Carolina’s women are 2-0, defeating the Commodores last season in Columbia by a 152-115 score. South Carolina’s men are 1-0 against the now-defunct Commodore men’s team, winning their only meeting in 1966.

Heading into the home stretch before SEC Championship competition in mid-February, the Gamecocks currently have nine athletes and one relay team that own an NCAA provisional or zone diving qualifying mark. Freshman Michael Flach and sophomore Armin Hornikel earned `B’ cuts in the 500 free and 100 breast, respectively, during the Gamecock Invitational, while divers Ryan Kuser, Rylan Ridenour, Nikolas Sachs, Helen Alvey, Allison Barr and Taryn Zack have all posted qualifying scores for NCAA Zone Diving regionals. Junior Courtney Forcucci also earned zone qualifying scores, but she is out for the season with a leg injury suffered in practice in November. In addition, the women’s 400 freestyle relay team earned a `B’ cut at the Invite as McLean, Delp, Bridget Halligan and Claire Thompson swam a 3:24.59, just under the provisional standard.

Diving events will get underway at 1 p.m. with senior day festivities set for 1:45. The swimming portion of the meet gets underway at 2 p.m. Live results will be available through SportsTiming.com.