March 28, 2013
INDIANAPOLIS — The South Carolina men’s swimming and diving team wrapped up its first day of competition at the 2013 NCAA Championships on Thursday in the preliminaries at the IU Natatorium.
The Gamecocks were unable to secure any spots in the finals of the three events they swam in during the morning session, which included junior Michael Flach in the 500 freestyle and the 200 freestyle and 400 medley relays. Flach finished 45th overall in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:24.26, and both Gamecock relay teams put up solid times but did not break into the top 16.
“It was a hit and miss morning for us,” South Carolina head coach McGee Moody said. “I thought our relays were very good. Based on the new selection process, three of our four guys on the medley relay didn’t even swim that at the SEC Championships. We’ve also got some new guys on our 200 freestyle relay. Both relay times were very good.
“Mike had an off morning. We are not real sure what caused it at this point, but we’ve got to figure it out. I think he’s in a pretty positive place, and he’ll be ready to go tomorrow. It’ll be a big day for us. He has the 200 freestyle, and we’ve got the 800 freestyle relay, so we will refocus and get ready to go tomorrow.”
In the 200 freestyle relay, the Gamecock team of junior Alex Fitton, Flach, junior Jay Warner and junior Gerard Rodriguez finished 26th with a time of 1:19.77, which ranks third all-time at South Carolina.
The Gamecocks wrapped up the preliminaries with the 400 medley relay. The team of Warner, Rodriguez, Fitton and freshman Marwan El Kamash placed 28th overall with a time of 3:15.29, which is the fifth fastest time in school history.
South Carolina will be back in action in the preliminaries on Friday at 11 a.m., as Flach will swim the 200 freestyle and the Gamecocks will swim the 200 medley and 800 freestyle relays. Live results will be available here. A live stream of Friday’s preliminaries will be available here, while the finals session will be carried live on ESPN3.com.
Thursday, March 282013 NCAA Men's Swimming & Diving ChampionshipsIndianapolis, Ind. - IU NatatoriumDay 1 Prelims200 Freestyle Relay26. Fitton, Flach, Warner, Rodriguez 1:19.77
500 Freestyle45. Michael Flach 4:24.26
400 Medley Relay28. Warner, Rodriguez, Fitton, El Kamash 3:15.29
