May 14, 2011

By Wes Todd
Assistant Media Relations Director

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – South Carolina swimmers Michael Flach and Amanda Rutqvist made a statement on the international level Saturday with world-class performances in their respective events at the Charlotte UltraSwim.

Rutqvist, a rising sophomore from Gothenburg, Sweden, tied for third place in the 200-meter breaststroke championship final, clocking a 2:30.03 to earn a World Championships provisional qualifying time. She finished only behind Rebecca Soni (2:23.33) and Amanda Beard (2:26.24), who have combined to win 10 Olympic medals. The 2011 SEC Champion and league record-holder in the 200-yard breaststroke earned her spot in the final by clocking a 2:31.61 in prelims to earn the fourth seed.

Flach had 14-time gold medalist Michael Phelps in his sights in the 200-meter butterfly final as the rising junior from Annandale, Va., finished fifth with an Olympic Trials qualifying time of 2:02.20. Chinese Olympian Wu Peng won the event in 1:56.83; Phelps was second in 1:58.22. Flach qualified sixth in preliminaries with a time of 2:03.46. He also finished 13th overall in the 400 freestyle finals with a time of 4:02.73; he qualified 13th in prelims with a 4:01.21.

One other Gamecock swimmer advanced to Saturday’s finals. Rising junior Whitney Avers finished 23rd overall and seventh in the C-final of the women’s 200 butterfly, posting a time of 2:19.18. She qualified in the same position in preliminaries with a time of 2:19.77.

Rising sophomore Rachael Schaffer, who made the championship final in the 400 individual medley on Friday, finished 30th in the 200 breaststroke prelims with a time of 2:40.97. And Matt Navata, who also made the A-final in the 400 IM, was 26th in the 200 fly prelims with a time of 2:07.90, barely missing the finals. He also finished 30th in the 200 breast prelims with a 2:27.34.

Lindsey Olson was 39th in the 200 fly prelims with a 2:22.18, and she also swam the 400 free with a time of 4:31.21. Bridget Halligan posted a 27.89 in her heat of the 50-meter freestyle, while Ryan Connolly swam a 2:33.90 in the 200 breast prelims. Dan Jackson posted a 2:17.28 in the 200 fly and a 4:23.14 in the 400 free.

The final day of the 2011 Charlotte UltraSwim is Sunday with preliminaries getting underway at 9 a.m. Events on tap include the 200 IM, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, women’s 800 freestyle and men’s 1500 freestyle. Live results are available through CharlotteUltraswim.com.