Feb. 13, 2011

By Wes Todd
Assistant Media Relations Director

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – South Carolina got points from junior Courtney Forcucci and sophomore Chay Malvasio in the women’s platform competition on Sunday as the diving portion of the 2011 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships came to a close at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Natatorium.

Forcucci scored an NCAA Zone qualifying mark of 229.65 to finish in ninth place, barely missing the SEC platform finals. It was Forcucci’s first attempt at the platform event as a Gamecock; she was the third-place finisher on the tower at the 2008 Conference USA Championships as a freshman at the University of Houston.

Malvasio, meanwhile, earned her first points at an SEC Championship, finishing 13th with a career-best score of 211.10 in her initial try at the platform event as a Gamecock. Her previous career-best was a 166.50 at last year’s Georgia Diving Invitational; she transferred from North Carolina at the beginning of the 2010-11 season.

Carolina also entered two of its men’s divers in the platform event for the first time since 2007. Nikolas Sachs finished in 23rd place with a score of 208.30, and Andrew Helmich was 25th, scoring 188.85.

The Gamecock women have 62 points to their credit heading into the swimming portion of the championships, which will get underway on Wednesday. South Carolina’s men will be playing catch-up starting Wednesday – the Gamecocks have yet to get on the board, but have multiple opportunities in the swim meet.

Swimming gets underway at 6 p.m. Wednesday with a pair of men’s and women’s relays, and individual events begin Thursday morning. The sold-out SEC Championships will be held here at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Natatorium, hosted by the University of Florida.