Jan. 24, 2013
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina swimming and diving teams will wrap up their home schedule this weekend with a two-session meet against College of Charleston, Queens and Wingate at the Carolina Natatorium.
Friday’s session will get underway at 4 p.m., and events will begin on Saturday at 10 a.m. Prior to Friday’s start time, 12 Gamecocks will be recognized as part of a Senior Day ceremony on the pool deck. Divers Rylan Ridenour and Chay Malvasio and swimmers Whitney Avers, Meghan Brockington, Robert Cave, Matt Columbus, Jordan Gibbs, Logan Griffith, Collin Kaden, Graham Kauffman, Matea Peteh and Brooks Ross will compete one last time at the Carolina Natatorium.
“This is a special bunch that is graduating this year,” South Carolina head coach McGee Moody said. “I think the underclassmen want to send them out with a win. They want to send them out with a special weekend.”
South Carolina enters the weekend with a 3-4 record and a No. 23 national ranking on the men’s side and a 2-6 mark for the women’s team. The Gamecocks are looking to rebound from last weekend’s losses to nationally ranked Florida State (men and women) and Arkansas (women). In the meet, the 13th-ranked Seminole men claimed a 180.5-117.5 victory, while the No. 21st-ranked Florida State women won 190-109. The 18th-ranked Razorback women also defeated South Carolina, 223-7, but Moody feels his team performed much better than the final scores indicated
“I was happy with the way we swam. We swam really well,” Moody said. “I couldn’t be upset with the way they performed. I was disappointed in the outcome. We sat down Saturday morning and had a long team meeting and talked about some things I thought we needed to improve on and take a little more seriously, and I think it was good. We will see the difference this weekend and as we move forward.”
The Gamecocks have a solid track record against this week’s competition as they enter the weekend with a combined 42-0 record against the teams. Both the Gamecock men’s and women’s teams are 19-0 all-time against College of Charleston and 2-0 all-time against Queens. This week marks the first meeting between South Carolina and Wingate on both sides.
The matchup is the second of the season between the Gamecocks and Cougars. The teams squared off in November, and South Carolina came out on top in both matchups. The Carolina men won 178-115, and the Gamecock women defeated the Cougars 169-126 for their first win of the season.
College of Charleston enters the weekend at 2-3 on the men’s side and 2-5 overall on the women’s side. The Cougar men are coming off a 176-171 victory over Gardner Webb, while the women’s team dropped a 176.5-167.5 decision to Gardner Webb. The Cougar men’s team is the defending Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association champion.
Both Queens and Wingate compete at the Division II level and are in the Bluegrass Mountain Conference (BMC). Queens’ men have won four meets on the year, including the Conference Carolinas Meet and the Wingate Fall Frenzy. Queens finished 11th at last year’s NCAA Division II Championships. On the women’s side, the Royals have won three meets, including the Conference Carolinas Meet. In 2012 Queens finished 21st at the NCAA Division II Championships.
Wingate’s men’s team has won two meets on the season, including the Savannah College of Arts and Design Invitational. The Bulldogs are the defending BMC champions and they finished fifth at last year’s NCAA Division II Championships. The Wingate women also won the Savannah College of Arts and Design Invitational this season. The Bulldogs finished runner-up at last year’s BMC championships and 18th at the NCAA Division II Championships.
Admission is free to all of South Carolina’s home swimming and diving meets. Live results for Friday and Saturday will be available here.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday
2:30 p.m. – Doors open
3:45 p.m. – Senior Day ceremony
4 p.m. – Swimming begins
–200 freestyle relay
–200 IM
–500 freestyle
Diving break (15 minutes/diving to keep going when swimming resumes)
–100 breaststroke
–200 backstroke
–100 freestyle
–200 butterfly
Diving break (15 minutes/diving to keep going when swimming resumes)
–400 medley relay
6:30 p.m. (approx.) – End of meet
Saturday
8:30 a.m. – Doors open
10 a.m. – Swimming begins
–200 medley relay
–1,650 freestyle
–50 freestyle
–100 backstroke
–200 breaststroke
Break (15 minutes)
–100 butterfly
–200 freestyle
–400 IM
Break (15 minutes)
–400 freestyle relay
12:30 p.m. (approx.) – End of meet
–Two heats of each event on both days
