Feb. 21, 2014
ATHENS, Ga. – Seniors Michael Flach and Jay Warner came back in the night session and put together great swims for South Carolina in the 200 butterfly and 100 backstroke to capture a pair of wins for the Gamecocks on the fourth day of the SEC Championships at Gabrielsen Natatorium.
Flach got the Gamecocks off to a good start as he picked up their first win on the night in the 200 butterfly C-Final. After going neck-and-neck with Auburn’s Alexander Hancock through the first 50, Hancock took the lead on the Gamecock through the next 75, but Flach clocked a 27.08 split to touch the wall at 1:44.85, just ahead of the Tiger.
With three Gamecocks in the final, senior Matt Navata slightly lowered his personal best from this morning’s prelim down to 1:47.01 as he took fifth. Fellow senior teammate Gerard Rodriguez finished in eighth with a time of 1:47.52.
Warner claimed the win in the 100 backstroke C-Final after getting out to more than a half second lead on the field. The senior used the quick start to nearly clip his South Carolina record, but came up 0.07 seconds off his pace from a year ago.
The Gamecocks had a trio of breaststrokers competing, beginning with Amanda Rutqvist. The senior finished fourth in the event with a time of 1:01.61, two tenths of a second faster than her prelim in the morning.
On the men’s side, Alex Vance was competing in his second final in as many days. The junior dropped nearly a half tenth of a second off his prelim time as he touched the wall in 54.49. In the following final, redshirt freshman Kevin Leithold finished fifth with a time of 54.06 in the B-Final.
Closing out the night, the men’s 400-medley relay comprised of Warner, Leithold, Flach and Marwan El Kamash broke the school record with a mark of 3:11.58, which topped the group that set the record at the 2013 SEC Championships.
Heading into the final day of the championships, the men’s team is 10th with 416 points, nine points back of Kentucky for eighth. The women’s team is in 11th with 185 points.
The final day begins tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. with the 100 freestyle prelims. Tomorrow’s finals will start at 6 p.m. ET and stream live on ESPN3.
SEC Championships Day 4 Finals Results
Men’s 200 Butterfly
C – Final
1) Michael Flach 1:44.85
5) Matt Navata 1:47.01
8) Gerard Rodriguez 1:47.52
Men’s 100 Backstroke
C – Final
1) Jay Warner 47.33
Women’s 100 Breaststroke
C – Final
4) Amanda Rutqvist 1:01.61
Men’s 100 Breaststroke
B – Final
5) Kevin Leithold 54.06
C – Final
3) Alex Vance 54.49
Women’s 400 Medley Relay
12) 3:44.98
1) Victoria Mitchell 2) Amanda Rutqvist
3) Lauren Raczkowski 4) Cooper Brown
Men’s 400 Medley Relay
8) 3:11.58
1) Jay Warner 2) Kevin Leithold
3) Michael Flach 4) Marwan El Kamash
