Oct. 25, 2013
COLUMBIA, S.C. – After competing against its first SEC competition of the season at Tennessee last week, South Carolina will return to the road this week as the squad heads to Greenville, N.C., to face East Carolina at Minges Natatorium. It marks a return trip to his alma mater for Head Coach McGee Moody.
WEEKEND INFORMATION
Date/Opponent: Saturday, Oct. 26 at East Carolina
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: Greenville, N.C.
Facility: Minges Natatorium
Gamecocks Continue Early Season on the Road
After competing against its first SEC competition of the season at Tennessee last week, South Carolina will return to the road this week as the squad heads to Greenville, N.C., to face East Carolina at Minges Natatorium. It marks a return trip to his alma mater for Head Coach McGee Moody.
Series History
The Gamecock men’s swimming and diving team is 6-2 all-time in dual meets against the Pirates while the women’s team is a perfect 3-0.
Last Time vs. East Carolina
On Jan. 28, 2012, the Gamecock women defeated Vanderbilt, 187-122, and East Carolina, 180.5-140.5, while the South Carolina men topped East Carolina 186-152. South Carolina won nine of the first 11 events before taking exhibition times in the last nine events to conclude the two-day dual meet at the Blatt P.E. Center/Carolina Natatorium.
Scouting East Carolina
Both the East Carolina men and women are 1-0 on the year in dual meets after easily defeating Davidson on Oct. 12. The two teams combined to win 29 of 32 events. For the men, Senior Attila Kiraly (100 and 200 backstroke, 200 IM) posted three victories. Juniors Charlsie Lincoln (100 and 200 breaststroke) and Danielle Morrin (200 butterfly and 200 IM) both won a pair of events on the women’s side, while junior Rokas Cepulis (100 and 200 breaststroke) and freshman Adam Dear (100 and 200 freestyle) did the same for the men.
In their first competition of the season, both Pirate squads finished second at the All-North Carolina Invitational as NC State won both the men’s and women’s competitions.
Nationally Ranked
After some standout performances at No. 8 Tennessee, the South Carolina men’s swimming and diving team is ranked No. 25 in the first College Swimming Coaches Association of America Division I Team Rankings of the 2013-14 season.
Diving to the Top of the SEC
In back-to-back weeks, South Carolina has had one its divers named SEC Diver of the week after junior Cole Miller won the honor this week after Miller producing big results at Tennessee. He claimed the 3-meter board title with 409.28 points, his second consecutive week scoring over 400 points in that event. The junior finished second on the 1-meter board with 328.65 points, falling to former SEC platform champion Mauricio Robles by 0.15 points after the final dive. His mark on the 3-meter at Tennessee currently leads the conference, while his total of 365.02 on the 1-meter against College of Charleston is second.
A week prior, junior Patricia Kranz was named SEC Female Diver of the Week (10/15) after winning the three-meter springboard at the dual meet against College of Charleston. She earned the honor after placing first in the three-meter and taking second in the one-meter board. Her mark of 369.23 points was just shy of a career mark in the event. She finished with 303.52 points in the one-meter. Her score in the three-meter currently ranks first in the SEC, while her one-meter score ranks second in the conference.
Youth Movement
At Tennessee, redshirt freshman Kevin Leithold and true freshman Sam Lynch produced nationally ranked teams en-route to wins. Leithold posted the nation’s 12th ranked time in the 100 freestyle as he won the event at 44.61. The redshirt freshman also claimed the win in the 100 breaststroke with the 23rd ranked time of 56.27. Lynch posted the 18th fastest time in the 100 butterfly as he won the event in 48.98.
Transferring Impact
Since transferring from Louisville, Victoria Mitchell has made an immediate impact on the women’s team as she’s won four events in two dual meets. Individually, the junior won the 200 and 800 freestyles two weeks ago at College of Charleston, before capturing 1000 freestyle and the 200 IM last week at Tennessee.
