Nov. 20, 2013
COLUMBIA, S.C. – After taking this past weekend off after hosting LSU on Nov. 9, the Gamecocks will wrap up their fall schedule with the three-day Virginia Tech Invitational. Outside of host Virginia Tech, the also competing in the field will be Liberty, Ohio, UCONN and William & Mary. The meet will begin on Thursday at the Christiansburg Aquatics Center and conclude with the championship races on Saturday.
EVENT INFORMATION
Date/Meet: November 21-23 at Virginia Tech Invitational
Time: All Day
Location: Christiansburg, Va.
Facility: Christiansburg Aquatics Center
Live Results | Friday Live Video | Saturday Live Video
Virginia Tech Invitational Schedule 
Last Time at the Virginia Tech Invitational
Both the Gamecock men’s and women’s teams finished in second place as they wrapped up the 2012-13 fall schedule. For the week, South Carolina posted 12 NCAA B cuts and won 10 races in the championship finals. Michael Flach led the way by posting the nation’s fastest times at the time in the 500 freestyle (4:18.38) and the 200 butterfly (1:45.51).
Marwan El Kamash also posted NCAA B cuts in the 500 freestyle and the 1,650 freestyle. Amanda Rutqvist recorded provisional qualifying times in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, while Rachael Schaffer turned in a B cut in the 400 IM.
Scouting Liberty
Liberty, which fields only a women’s squad, is 4-4 on the season and is coming off of a 152-138 loss at Richmond, a day after knocking off Vanderbilt 152-104 in Lynchburg, Va.
Scouting Ohio
Ohio, which fields only a women’s squad and finished second in the Mid-American Conference in 2013, opened the season 3-0 before falling to Ohio State 193.5-106.5 in its last meet.
Scouting UCONN
The Huskie men enter the meet 3-0 after a pair dominating wins over Army and Villanova and topping Penn by six in the squad’s latest meet. UCONN’s women sit at 2-1, winning their first two meets before falling to Penn172.5-127.5.
Scouting Virginia Tech
The Hokie men are 8-1 on the year and ranked No. 12 by the CSCAA, while Tech’s women’s team is 7-3.
Scouting William & Mary
The Tribe’s men’s team opened the season 5-0, before taking their only defeat of the season on Nov. 9 at Duke, while the women are 4-3 on the year.
Men Capture First SEC Win of 2013
Led by redshirt freshman Kevin Leithold who won three individual races (100 breaststroke, 100 butterfly, 100 freestyle) and led the Gamecock 400 freestyle relay team team victory, the squad defeated LSU 166-134 at Carolina Natatorium. The Gamecocks won a total of eight events, finishing at least first and second in five of those races. Senior Gerard Rodriguez earned wins in both the 200 and 500 freestyles, whil fellow senior Michael Flach was right behind him.
German Domination
In eight individual races this season redshirt freshman Kevin Leithold has yet to be defeated. The native of Sandersdorf, Germany, he has continually grown stronger as fall has gone on. He ranks in the Top 50 nationally in the 100 breaststroke at 16th (55.36) the 100 freestyle at 27th (44.61) and the 200 IM at 49th (1:51.17). In the SEC, his times rank 5th in the 100 freestyle, 6th in the 100 breaststroke and 11th in the 200 IM.
Men Roll in Greenville
The 25th-ranked men’s team claimed 13 events, led by senior Michael Flach and redshirt freshman Kevin Leithold who each grabbed three individual wins. Slow to start the season, Flach picked things up today by winning the 100 (50.49) and 200 (1:51.50) butterfly and the 1000 freestyle (9:31.56). Leithold, who made a big splash at Tennessee, won the 50 (21.16) and 100 (45.97) freestyle along with the 200 IM (1:51.17). The two also teamed up with junior Michael Covert and senior Gerard Rodriguez to win the 400 freestyle relay at 3:06.78.
Nationally Ranked In Opening Poll
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 Toward the Top of the SEC
In back-to-back weeks to start the season, South Carolina had one its divers named SEC Diver of the week. Junior Cole Miller won the honor on Oct. 22 after 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 at Tennessee. A week later she won the 200 and 500 freestyle, and 200 backstroke. In 11 races as a Gamecock she has nine first-place finishes and two second-place results.
