March 19, 2016
ATLANTA, Ga. — Freshman Allyson Nied garnered All-America laurels as the University of South Carolina wrapped up the final day at the 2016 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships on Saturday. Nied, who is Carolina’s third All-American of the week, earned the honors in the platform dive.
South Carolina finished the event with 18 points as a team, which was good for a 29th-place finish. The team finish is the highest for the Gamecocks since 2012.
RECAP
Nied spent much of platform prelims outside of the top-16 but did a great job to rally late and post a score of 254.85, good for 13th place and a spot in the consolation finals. Her best dive of the early session was an Armstand Forward 2 Somersault 1 Twist Free that was marked at 57.35.
Nied placed eighth in the consolation finals to finish 16th overall in the platform competition. Her finals score of 175.60 was highlighted by a Inward 2 1/2 Somersault Tuck that received a score of 58.05.
Emma Barksdale also was in action on Saturday, swimming the 200-yard breaststroke for her third and final event. The freshman set a personal record in the race, posting a time of 2:12.15. She finished the event in 36th place.
QUOTABLES
HEAD SWIMMING COACH McGee Moody – “Emma Barksdale’s lifetime best in the breaststroke was awesome this morning, and I am happy with all of our swims this week. Allyson Nied’s effort was also incredible today. For her to make All-America shows how hard she has worked, but her courage in the consolation finals was incredible. She had a failed dive on her first attempt and hit the water hard. But for her to come back and dive four more times, and put good scores on the board, was incredible. She showed an amazing level of toughness. Our divers were outstanding all week. Overall, I am very pleased with what we did as a team. We’re right in the mix with several other traditionally strong programs from the SEC, and that says a lot about the hard work our entire program has put in this season.” — On the week for the Gamecocks in Atlanta
HEAD DIVING COACH Todd Sherritt – “We knew Allyson was diving well enough to make the finals, and she did. To earn All-American honors as a freshman is incredible. She did some things both at the meet and in training that showed real progress. Overall, this was a great year. The entire squad worked really hard. I was really happy to see Lauren finish as an All-American, and Julia as well did great and had one of the highest finishes in my time here. This was a tremendous week full of great performances and great lessons to take forward to the future. We’re going to go back and correct our mistakes and come back next year with a bigger group that will earn more points. I am honored to work with this group.” — On the performance of Allyson Nied on Saturday and the team as a whole
NOTABLE
- Nied is one of three Gamecocks to earn All-America status this season, with Julia Vincent and Lauren Lamendola capturing the honor on Thursday in the 1-meter dive.
- The Gamecocks had three different student-athletes earn All-America laurels for the first time since 2004.
- Vincent’s fourth-place finish in the 1-meter dive on Thursday was South Carolina’s highest result of the week.
- Four of the five Gamecocks who competed at NCAAs are underclassmen, with freshmen Barksdale and Nied set to join sophomores Vincent and Taylor Worrell back on the roster next season.
UP NEXT FOR CAROLINA
The Gamecocks now turn their attention to the NCAA Men’s Championships, which will be held March 23-26 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta. Cody Bekemeyer, Jordan Gotro, Kevin Leithold, Fynn Minuth, Akaram Mahmoud, Tomas Peribonio and Nils Wich-Glasen will all be in action at the final meet of the collegiate season.
