Senior Class Elevates Swimming & Diving Program
April 18, 2018
South Carolina swimming and diving has taken several major leaps forward in the last four years, thanks in part to a talented senior class whose hard work has elevated themselves and the program into elite company.
“With any class, by the time they get to be seniors, you hope that that they’ve figured out who they are as a class and that they’ve bought in to the direction we’re trying to take the program,” said South Carolina head swimming and diving coach McGee Moody. “This group absolutely did that; 100 percent. They have raised the expectation of what South Carolina swimming is about.”
“We’ve had an outstanding class,” said 10x All-American and 2016 Olympics qualifier Akram Mahmoud. “Everyone wanted to do something different for the program. I’m really glad that we’re able to leave a mark on the program.”
The accomplishments and success of seniors such as swimmers Mahmoud, Tomas Peribonio (11x All-American), and Nils Wich-Glasen (5x All-American), and diver Julia Vincent (3x All-American, 2016 Olympics qualifier), among others, helps in not only raising the expectations for the program, but also attracting more talented student-athletes into the program for the future.
“We wanted to set the bar high for the up and coming swimmers, and that’s what we did,” Mahmoud said. “For our distance swimmers, I did my best to do my job. (Junior) Fynn Minuth (5x All-American) is going to be even better next year. We have a really good freshman class coming in, so I’m really excited to see the future of the program.”
“What’s most important about our senior class is progression,” Peribonio said. “It’s a team that keeps getting better every year. As a recruit, that’s all you can ask for; somewhere you can grow.”
“Our men have created a niche within our team in that a lot of the top distance swimmers in the United States and across the world see what Akram and Tom have done,” Moody said. “They see what (junior) Cody Bekemeyer (2x All-American) has done, and they want to be a part of that. Cody is here because of Tom and Akram. Fynn Minuth is here because of those guys. It broadens our opportunities in reaching the top athletes from around the world”
Similar strides and commitment from seniors in the women’s program have also led to outstanding talent pouring in for successive classes, evidenced by junior Emma Barksdale (3x All-American) and sophomore Albury Higgs (2018 All-American).
With a great foundation having been established, Moody wants to not only maintain, but also build up other areas of the program.
“We have established ourselves as a top 20 program for both the men and the women,” Moody said. “On both teams we have qualified in the 800 free style. What we have to do is not only maintain what we have with our distance program, but also invest and shift our focus and intensity towards our speed swimmers, our short sprint swimmers and our stroke swimmers to boost our other relays. That’s the next step in moving the team from being consistently in the top 20 to being in the top 10.”
When you look at the results and the culture change that we’ve made as a senior class, it’s huge.
Tomas Peribonio
Among the many accolades, Mahmoud’s four straight All-American honors in the 1650 freestyle is a unique accomplishment that has only been done two other times in program history.
“Being an All-American one time in one event is extremely difficult,” Moody said. “To be an All-American in multiple years in multiple events is almost unheard of. To be an All-American all four years in the same event is an incredible feat. To hold that level of intensity in your training year after year, and to be able to perform at such a high level each year is extremely difficult. The thing with Akram is that every year, he was incredibly pleased, but he was never satisfied with his result. It kept pushing him to be better. As his college competitions come to a finish, that drives him towards the Olympics in 2020.
“Think about it in terms of other sports. How many times does somebody win four straight Master’s Tournaments or four straight Wimbledons? How often does a basketball player earn All-America honors four years in a row? We just had A’ja Wilson, but there are not a lot like her, and there are not a lot like Akram.”
Moody noted that while the individual accomplishments are tremendous, the competition and drive within the team has helped everybody get better.
“Arkam has big goals,” Moody said. “As good as he is, he is better because of the men around him in that training room. They don’t allow him to take a day off, and he doesn’t allow them to take a day off. It’s been a nice team effort in terms of our team success along with a lot of nice individual performances along the way.”
As their time competing for the Gamecocks comes to a close, the seniors are proud of the legacy they’ll leave behind.
“When you look at the results and the culture change that we’ve made as a senior class, it’s huge,” Peribonio said. “We meshed really well. There’s not one slacker in that class. We have a lot of records. We have a lot of All-Americans. We got things rolling, and I’m positive they’re going to keep on rolling afterwards.”
“The impact that they’ve had is to change the expectation from trying to be an elite program to trying to maintain it,” Moody said. “[Women’s tennis coach] Kevin Epley had a great quote where he said that yesterday’s ceilings are today’s floors. The expectations are different now. We’re not shooting to be a top 20 team because we’re already there. Now we have to get inside the top 10. Then the expectation is to stay there. They’ve recreated the expectation of what our program is to be, moving forward.”
