June 30, 2011

2011-12 Swimming & Diving Schedule

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Four home meets, four SEC opponents and the final meet ever between South Carolina and Clemson highlight the 2011-12 swimming & diving season schedule, which was released today by head coach McGee Moody.

“We have the opportunity to take another huge step forward this season as a program,” Moody said. “We have a very tough schedule for the 2011-2012 season. We are going to have to be at our best week in and week out. Our athletes are always up for the challenge. We are looking for another great season!”

The Gamecock men are coming off one of their best seasons in school history as they finished with a 10-1 dual meet record, equaling the school record for single-season wins, and were ranked 25th in the final CSCAA poll of the 2010-11 season. Carolina’s women also look for another successful campaign after finishing 7-6 overall last season and earning a sixth-place finish at the SEC Championships, their best under Moody and his coaching staff.

The season opens Oct. 15 with a trip to Tallahassee, Fla., as the Gamecocks will square off outdoors with Florida State and SEC foe Alabama. The following week will be the home opener as Georgia Tech visits the Blatt P.E. Center/Carolina Natatorium at 2 p.m. on Oct. 22.

On Oct. 29 at Clemson’s McHugh Natatorium, the storied series between the Gamecocks and the Tigers that dates back to 1923 will come to a close as Carolina takes on Clemson for the final time. The Tigers are discontinuing their swimming program at the end of the 2012 season. Carolina will have their fill of orange over that two-week stretch as Tennessee visits Columbia on Nov. 5. The fall season will wrap up Nov. 17-19 as the Gamecocks travel to the Nike Cup Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C.

A third Atlantic Coast Conference foe will await the Gamecocks on Jan. 14 as Duke visits Columbia to open the second half of the season. A trip to Georgia on Jan. 21 will wrap up the men’s SEC schedule, and senior weekend will take place Jan. 27-28 as Vanderbilt’s women and East Carolina’s men and women will visit the Blatt P.E. Center for a two-session meet to end the regular season.

The 2012 SEC Championships will take place Feb. 15-18 at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center at the University of Tennessee. Auburn University plays host to the NCAA Women’s Championships, which run March 15-17, and the NCAA Men’s Championships will run March 22-24 in Federal Way, Wash.