March 23, 2011

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NCAA Championship Notes | Live Results | Championship Central

By Wes Todd
Assistant Media Relations Director

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Sophomore Michael Flach will represent the University of South Carolina for the second straight year at the NCAA Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships, which run Thursday-Saturday, March 24-26, at the University Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minn.

Flach will swim the 500 freestyle, 200 freestyle and 200 butterfly at the meet, the same events he swam at last season’s championships in Columbus, Ohio. He enters the meet as the No. 6 seed in the 500 free with a top time of 4:16.03. Four of the top six competitors in the 500 free are from the SEC – Conor Dwyer, Florida (4:11.36), Martin Grodzki, Georgia (4:14.93), Ryan Harrison, Tennessee (4:15.13) and Flach. He is the school record-holder in the 500 free, having broken Jean Arnould’s record time of 4:17.33 that had stood since 1988.

The sophomore from Annandale, Va., is seeded 21st in the 200 freestyle with a 1:35.39, and he is 22nd in the 200 butterfly with a 1:45.36. He has the second-fastest times in school history in the 200 free (Kyle Cormier, 1:34.09) and the third-fastest all-time South Carolina mark in the 200 fly (Nick Walkotten, 1:42.48; Zsolt Gaspar, 1:43.85).

Last season, then-freshman Flach competed in three events for South Carolina at the 2010 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships in Columbus. He posted a 4:21.33 in the 500 freestyle to finish 27th, despite recording his second-fastest time of the season. On Friday, he was 33rd in the 200 freestyle prelims with a 1:36.90, then he recorded a then-careeer best 1:46.71 in the 200 butterfly to wrap up his week on Saturday.

This will mark the 14th straight season and the 28th overall that South Carolina has sent at least one athlete to the NCAA Men’s Championships. The Gamecocks have placed in the top 25 at the national championships 12 times, with the last being a 20th-place finish at the 2004 meet. The best showing for a Gamecock squad came in 1987 when the Metro Conference champions earned a 10th-place finish behind All-America performances from nine individuals and two relays.

Flach’s meet will begin with the 500 free on Thursday. Prelims get underway at noon ET with finals slated for an 8 p.m. start. Live results are available through NCAA.com, and live video of the finals on Friday and Saturday night will be available through ESPN3.com.