Jan. 3, 2015
COLUMBIA, S.C. –
The South Carolina swimming team opened 2015 with a pair of losses to the second-ranked Georgia women and third-ranked Georgia men. The Gamecock men finished with 103 points to the Bulldogs 150 and fall to 3-2 on the season. The Gamecock women, now 5-2, tallied 103 points with the Bulldogs totaling 151.
Georgia took an early lead, sweeping the women’s 200 medley relay and taking first and third in the men’s race. The team of Jonathan Boland, Nils Wich-Glasen , Kevin Leithold and Marwan El Kamash claimed second place in the men’s relay with a time of 1:31.23.
Freshmen Tomas Peribonio (9:14.22) and Travis Morrin (9:25.93) finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 1000 freestyle. Senior Victoria Mitchell claimed second place in the women’s race with a time of 10:02.10.
Redshirt sophomore Kevin Leithold secured a pair of top-three finishes for the Gamecocks as he placed second in the 100 freestyle (45.28) and third in the 50 freestyle (20.89). On the women’s side, freshman Meredith Vay finished in second place in both the 50 (23.90) and 100 freestyle (51.58).
Freshmen Heather Merritt and Nils Wich-Glasen both recoded a pair of top-three finishes. Merritt placed third in the 100 backstroke (57.39) and second in the 200 backstroke (2:03.63) while Wich-Glasen took second in the 200 breaststroke (2:01.28) and third in the 100 breaststroke (55.93).
KEY STAT
The Bulldogs recorded the fastest times in all 32 events.
NOTABLES
• Tomas Peribonio (9:14.22) and Travis Morrin (9:25.93) both set new career best times in the 1000 freestyle. Peribonio’s time ranks third all-time in school history.
• Ahmed Akram Abbas made his collegiate debut swimming in the 200 butterfly (1:50.94) and 500 freestyle (4:29.81). The times he recorded in each event rank third on the team this season.
QUOTABLE
Head swimming coach McGee Moody
“That is one of the best teams I’ve seen them (Georgia) have. The women’s team is so strong and has so much depth, it’s no wonder they’re one of the top teams in the country. The men are No. 3 in the country and that’s the strongest team I’ve seen them have on the men’s side. It was no surprise (the outcome), we knew what we were up against, but the bigger question for us was how would we respond after putting up a huge workload (over the break). We physically pushed these athletes to their limits and then asked them to race the fastest teams in the country. How they responded was what we were looking at today and I thought they did a great job. They raced with intensity, raced hard and I think they were very good today. I’m very proud of them, more so for the attitude they took into every race. They were going to give their best for the people that were standing on our side and for their teammates. They didn’t let anything deter them, no matter what the scoreboard said they approached every race like it was 0-0. That’s a huge growing point for our team. We’re in a very good spot right now, we’re in a position to finish as high as we ever have not only in the SEC but in the country as well. I’m happy with what we did today, we have work to do and we’ll get back at it to get ready for Duke and Harvard next week.”
UP NEXT
South Carolina travels to Durham, N.C. on Jan. 10 to face Duke and Harvard.
