Feb. 20, 2013

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The South Carolina swimming and diving teams will have three swimmers and one diver in tonight’s finals after posting three NCAA B cuts and 18 career bests in the preliminaries Wednesday morning at the 2013 SEC Championships.

The Gamecocks have two swimmers in the men’s 500 freestyle finals, one in the men’s 50 freestyle finals and sophomore Patricia Kranz advanced to the women’s one-meter diving finals.

South Carolina got off to a strong start by sending two swimmers to the finals in the 500 freestyle. Junior Michael Flach secured a spot in the championship final with an NCAA B cut of 4:18.10, which was the second fastest time of the preliminaries. Flach, whose time is currently the 11th fastest in the country, won bronze in the 500 freestyle at both the 2010 and 2011 SEC Championships. Freshman Marwan El Kamash advanced to the consolation final as the 11th seed with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 4:21.01, which is the third fastest in school history. Junior Gerard Rodriguez just missed out on making the C final as he is the first alternate after finishing 25th overall with a B cut of 4:23.86.

In the men’s 50 freestyle, junior Jay Warner will represent the Gamecocks in the C final. Warner turned in a time of 20.29 to finish 23rd overall. It will be his third career appearance in an individual final at the SEC Championships. On the women’s side, the Gamecocks had eight swimmers in the event, and seven of them swam lifetime bests. Junior Lauren Raczkowski led the way, finishing 41st with a personal record of 23.61.

Kranz closed out the preliminaries in strong fashion, finishing seventh on the women’s one-meter springboard with a score of 288.25, which is her career best at the championships. Kranz making the finals guarantees the Gamecocks at least 22 points. Freshman Lauren Lamendola scored for the second straight day as she finished 20th with a mark of 249.90 to give South Carolina five points, while senior Chay Malvasio finished 27th with a score of 235.30.

In the women’s 500 freestyle, South Carolina was unable to secure a spot in the finals. Sophomore Charlotte Ward was the Gamecocks’ top finisher in 32nd overall with a personal best of 4:58.59.

Senior Collin Kaden narrowly missed making the C final of the men’s 200 IM as he finished 26th overall with a time of 1:49.57. Sophomore Alex Vance turned in a PR of 1:51.12 to place 32nd. Junior Abby Galbreath led the Gamecocks in the women’s competition as she placed 27th with a PR of 2:01.67.

The finals are slated to begin tonight at 6 CT. Live video and live results will be available here

Wednesday, February 202013 SEC Swimming & Diving ChampionshipsCollege Station, Texas - Student Recreation Center NatatoriumDay 2 PrelimsMen's 500 Freestyle2. Michael Flach    4:18.10 (NCAA B cut)11. Marwan El Kamash     4:21.01 (NCAA B cut, PR)25. Gerard Rodriguez     4:23.86 (NCAA B cut)35. Matt Columbus   4:26.32 (PR)38. Alex Eiden         4:27.23 (PR)42. Brooks Ross   4:28.68
Women's 500 Freestyle32. Charlotte Ward     4:58.59 (PR)33. Annika Jonsson     4:58.8939. Whitney Avers   5:02.7243. Jordan Gibbs     5:04.9145. Elise Costa       5:07.18
Men's 200 IM26. Collin Kaden     1:49.5732. Alex Vance         1:51.12 (PR)
Women's 200 IM27. Abby Galbreath 2:01.67 (PR)36. Rachael Schaffer 2:02.5246. Amanda Rutqvist   2:05.6354. Elisabeth Worrell   2:07.71 (PR)
Men's 50 Freestyle23. Jay Warner     20.2927. Michael Covert 20.38 (PR)30. Eric Lethander 20.49 (PR)35. Graham Kauffman   20.75 (PR)41. Bobby Cave     21.21 (PR)43. Jake White     21.31
Women's 50 Freestyle41. Lauren Raczkowski   23.61 (PR)44. Rachel Elliott 23.8444. Casey Papp     23.84 (PR)46. Lauryl Williams   23.90 (PR)50. M. Brockington  24.04 (PR)50. Matea Peteh           24.04 (PR)53. Sara Drake     24.15 (PR)59. Lindsay Pierce 24.61 (PR)
Women's One-Meter Diving7. Patricia Kranz  288.2520. Lauren Lamendola 249.9027. Chay Malvasio   235.30