March 26, 2015
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Senior diver Cole Miller earned All-America honors on South Carolina’s first day at the 2015 Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships. Miller becomes the first Gamecock diver on the men’s team to accomplish the feat since Andy Bradley in 2005.
The Gamecocks are tied for 26th place with two points through one day of competition. Texas leads the meet with a score of 131 while California (85 points) and Florida (84 points) round out the top three.
Miller finished 14th in the 1-meter preliminary with a score of 351.10 to advance to the consolation final where he placed 7th with a score of 344.10. Sophomore Jordan Gotro finished 25th overall in the preliminary with a score of 329.00.
In the 500 freestyle preliminary freshmen Tomas Peribonio (4:17.51) and Akram Mahmoud (4:18.35) finished 23rd and 25th, respectively.
QUOTABLE
Head Swimming Coach McGee Moody
“We’re proud of all our men who raced today but today is about Cole Miller. As a senior earning his first All-America honors, he did a great job for South Carolina getting points on the board. We’re going to use this momentum he created for us to build on the rest of the week.”
Head Diving Coach Todd Sherritt
“Today was a great day. Cole (Miller) did not miss a dive all day. He performed I’ve ever seen before. This was by far the best 1-meter contest I’ve seen since I’ve been at the NCAA Championship. Cole was consistent and he wasn’t nervous, I think he was excited but not nervous. He was able to go out execute. Jordan (Gotro) didn’t miss a dive either and dove great. Finishing 25th and even just getting here, as a sophomore is a great feat. We had a great day and this was a great start for our team.”
UP NEXT
The Gamecocks continue with the second day of the NCAA Championships on Friday with preliminaries set to begin at 11 a.m. CT. Redshirt sophomore Kevin Leithold and freshman Nils Wich-Glasen will race in the 100 breaststroke while Miller will compete on the 3-meter springboard. The Gamecocks 800 freestyle relay team will compete in Friday’s finals scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.
