Jan. 9, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C. –

The South Carolina swimming and diving team will hit the road for the last time of the regular season, traveling Durham, N.C. to face Duke and Harvard on Saturday, Jan. 10. The meet is set to begin at 1 p.m. at the Taishoff Aquatic Pavilion.

MEET INFORMATION
Date/Opponent: Sat., Jan. 10, at Duke/vs. Harvard
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Taishoff Aquatic Pavilion, Durham, N.C.
Live Results |Meet Notes

SERIES HISTORY
The Gamecock men have an 11-3 all-time dual meet record against Duke, while the women have a 7-2 edge over the Blue Devils. South Carolina and Harvard have never met in dual meet action.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET
South Carolina and Duke met last season on Jan. 11, 2014 in Columbia, S.C. The Gamecocks won both the men and women’s competition, with scores of 184-116 and 167.133, respectively. This will be the first meeting between South Carolina and Harvard.

SCOUTING DUKE
The Blue Devil women wrapped up their fall season with a fourth-place finish at the Nike Cup Invitational and are 5-1, while the men placed 7th and are 4-2. Duke had six swimmers compete in the 2014 AT&T Winter National Championships, highlighted by freshman Leah Goldman’s 17th-place performance in the consolation final of the 100 butterfly.

SCOUTING HARVARD
The Crimson men and women are 3-0 with wins over Cornell, Dartmouth and Columbia.

DIVING IN TO 2015
This will be the Gamecock divers’ first competition of the New Year. Senior Cole Miller leads the men’s squad in all three (one-meter, three-meter, and platform) diving events this season. On the women’s side, freshman Julia Vincent owns the highest scores on the one-meter and three-meter springboard, while senior Patti Kranz leads on the platform.

MAKING THE CUT
Nine Gamecock swimmers have combined for 26 NCAA provisional cuts in 10 different events.

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK
Redshirt sophomore Kevin Leithold and freshman Nils Wich-Glasen set school records this fall in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, respectively. Leithold posted a time of 53.36 at the Virginia Tech Invitational, shaving .21 seconds of his previous record time of 53.57. Wich-Glasen beat the previous record of 1:56.47, held by senior Alex Vance, by .49 seconds with his time of 1:55.98 at the Virginia Tech Invitational. Senior Cole Miller set a record on the platform (6 dives) with his score of 360.90 at the Georgia Tech Invitational.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
The Gamecock freshmen put together an impressive first semester as they account for 17 top-10 times in school history and five of the nine swimmers who posted NCAA B cuts.

WATCH OUT FOR WICH-GLASEN
Freshman Nils Wich-Glasen has quickly become one of South Carolina’s top performers. He posted the first NCAA qualifying time for the Gamecocks this season, with a B cut time of 1:58.49 in the 200 breaststroke against East Carolina and College of Charleston. Wich-Glasen owns three times that rank in the top-10 in school history. His season-best times in the 100 (54.71) and 200 (1:55.98) breaststroke rank 14th and sixth in the SEC, respectively.

LEITHOLD IN THE LEAD
Redshirt sophomore Kevin Leithold is the Gamecocks’ top performer this season in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke and 200 IM. He has five times that rank in the top-20 in the SEC this season, including the fourth fastest time in the 100 breaststroke with his personal record of 53.36.

BEWARE OF BOLAND
Sophomore Jonathan Boland is the Gamecocks’ top backstroker this season, posting NCAA B cut times in both the 100 and 200 backstroke. His personal-best times in both events, which he set at the Virginia Tech Invitatonal earlier this season, rank fourth all-time in school school history.

GOING THE DISTANCE
Freshman Tomas Peribonio is the Gamecocks’ top performer this season in both the 1000 and 1650 freestyle. His personal record of 9:14.22 in the 1000 freestyle currently ranks 9th in the SEC while his career-best times in the 1650 and 500 freestyle rank 10th and 15th, respectively.

Senior Victoria Mitchell is the top performer on the women’s side in the 500, 1000 and 1650 freestyle. Her personal record of 9:57.92 in the 1000 freestyle is the 10th fastest in the SEC this season.

SHE HAS MERRITT
Freshman Heather Merritt leads the women’s team in the 100 and 200 backstroke, as well as the 200 IM and 100 butterfly. Merritt owns the second fastest times in school history in both the 100 backstroke and 200 IM. She also ranks 7th in the 200 backstroke and 9th in the 100 butterfly.

VAY MAKES A SPLASH
Freshman Meredith Vay posted the Gamecocks’ (women’s team) first sub-50 time in the 100 freestyle since the 2013 SEC Championships. Her time of 49.69, which she recorded on the first leg of the 400 freestyle relay at the Virginia Tech Invitational, ranks fourth all-time in school history. Vay leads the Gamecocks in this season in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle.

SEC HONORS
Miller and junior Lauren Lamendola were named SEC Male and Female Divers of the Week after their performances against East Carolina and College of Charleston.

LOOKING AHEAD
South Carolina returns home for conference action against Missouri on Jan. 17. The Gamecocks conclude the regular season hosting Vanderbilt, Queens and Wingate in a two-day meet Jan. 23-24.