Nov. 21, 2015
ATLANTA, GA. – The South Carolina swimming and diving program wrapped up the fall portion of its schedule Saturday night at the Georgia Tech Invite. The men would take second overall in the three-day meet with 1,107 total points, the women held fourth with 819.5 points.
The distance groups made sure the final day opened with a bang for the Gamecocks. Akaram Mahmoud, Cody Bekemeyer and Tomas Peribonio went 1-2-3 in the 1650-free event. Mahmoud came just a few seconds off his school record, finishing in 14:48.52. Travis Morrin would also score for the team with a seventh-place finish in the event. For the women, Sarah Smith and Elizabeth Maltby would be the top two finishers, coming in fifth and sixth, respectively.
At the start of sprints, Carolina picked up ‘B’ flight winners in the women’s 200-yard backstroke (Jordyn Barham) and in the men’s 100 free with Jonathan Boland. The women would put a trio in the ‘A’ final of the 200-yard breaststroke final, and had Kersten Dirrane (4th), Emma Barksdale (5th) and Brittany Oxley (10th) score crucial points. A second-place result from Marissa DelGado in the 200 fly would help the Gamecocks maintain their place in the 18-team field.
Nils Wich-Glasen earned a second-place finish in the 200 breastroke for the men, taking more than four seconds off his previous season best with a touch in 1:54.74. Phillip Willett (6th) and Jeremiah Bohon (8th) would also score for the men in the ‘A’ final.
To close out the meet, the men placed third in the 400 free relay. The women finished sixth.
Arkansas won the overall team title on the women’s side, Alabama would win for the men. The Gamecocks will race next in the New Year, taking on Duke on Jan. 8.
