Jan. 31, 2014
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina travels to Auburn for its final dual meet of the season on Saturday in preparations for the SEC Championships in just over two weeks. The meet is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET at James E. Martin Aquatics Center.
MEET INFORMATION
Date/Opponent: Saturday, Feb. 1 vs. Auburn
Time: 11 a.m. ET
Location: Auburn, Ala.
Facility: James E. Aquatics Center
Results:
LAST TIME VS. AUBURN
The South Carolina men’s and women’s swimming teams last swam against Auburn to end the 2005-06 season. Auburn defeated Carolina 124-70 on the men’s side and 119-81 on the women’s side
SERIES HISTORY
The Tiger men hold an 11-1 record over South Carolina, while the Auburn women are 7-0 against the Gamecocks.
SCOUTING AUBURN
Auburn’s men are ranked No. 10 and are 1-2 in dual meets on the year, topping LSU 151-87 and falling to then-No. 2 Texas 162.5-135.5 and most recently No. 2 Florida 180-117. The women are No. 15 and also hold a 1-1 record in dual meets this year, defeating Vanderbilt 158-44, while falling to then-No. 8 Texas 168.5-129.5 and No. 9 Florida 173.5-124.5.
CLOSING OUT HOME SLATE WITH A WIN
With the senior class competing for the final time at home, it was a bittersweet ending to for the group as the finished off their careers at Carolina Natatorium with a pair of sweeps over Queens and Wingate. The men defeated Wingate 187-130 and Queens 176-141, while the women won 182-129 over Wingate and 172-136 over Queens. The two teams combined to post the top time in in 27 events during the two-day meet. The Gamecocks depth shined as they collected eight total 1-2-3 finishes for the weekend. Carolina also had at least 18 1-2 finishes. Individually, Kevin Leithold led Carolina on the weekend with five total wins, with three coming from relays. Elizabeth Maltby (500 and 1,000 free), Elise Weisert (100 and 200 breaststroke) and Taylor Vincent (50 and 100 free) each led the women in individual wins as each picked up two.
BACK STRONG AFTER 49 DAYS
In their first meet in 49 days, both the South Carolina men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams came away with convincing wins over Duke on Jan. 11 at the Carolina Natatorium. The Gamecock men claimed their win with a score of 184-116, while the women won 167-133. The Gamecocks won 19 of 32 events on the day and finished 1-2-3 in five events (men’s 100 backstroke, 100 butterfly, 500 freestyle; women’s 200 butterfly and 500 freestyle) and claimed at least the top two spots in 12 races.
TOP 25 X2
Following the meet against Duke, the women’s team earned its first ranking of the season, coming in at No. 19 in the Endless Pools Top 25, while the me came in at No. 23.
GAINING MOMENTUM TO END THE FALL
The Gamecocks put together one of their best performances at an invitational in program history, totaling 15 NCAA B cut times during the three-day Virginia Tech Invitational, with 11 of those times coming from the men’s team which moved them up to No. 17 by Endless Pools’ rankings following the meet. Redshirt freshman Kevin Leithold led the way with five times that rank in the nation’s top 30, including the fourth-fastest mark in the 100 breaststroke at 53.57, which broke the school’s seven-year-old record in the event. Redshirt senior Michael Flach posted three B cuts, while seniors Gerard Rodriguez had two and Jay Warner chipped in one. On the women’s side, South Carolina earned a pair of B cuts in the 200 breaststroke and 400 IM. Junior Victoria Mitchell earned one in each event as he won the 400 IM and took fourth in the 200 breaststroke. Senior Amanda Rutqvist earned her B cut as she won the 200 breaststroke, while senior Abby Galbreath was right behind Mitchell in the 400 IM to capture hers.
ORDER OF EVENTS:
1M Diving (10 a.m.)
200 Medley Relay (11:00 a.m.)
1,000 Freestyle
200 Freestyle
100 Back
100 Breast
200 Fly
50 Free
3M Diving (Men)
100 Free
200 Back
200 Breast
500 Free
100 Fly
3M Diving (Women)
200 IM
400 Free Relay
