Gamecocks Wrap Up NCAA Championships

AUSTIN, Texas– South Carolina finished with four total All-America performances from its men’s team at the 2019 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, which concluded with the last finals session on Saturday night.  Fynn Minuth earned recognition as an All-American in his second event of the week on Saturday, finishing 14th in the 200 butterfly on the final day of competition from the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.

Minuth set a new Carolina record, hitting the wall at 1:41.11 in the sixth prelim heat of the 200 fly to qualify for the B-final in the 10th-place.  Minuth had previously set the Gamecocks’ program record in the 200 fly with a 1:41.25 to win gold at the 2018 SEC Championships.  He finishes his career as a three-time All-American in both the 200 fly and the 500 free, becoming just the fourth male in Carolina history to earn three-straight All-America honors in multiple individual events.

Rafael Davila missed out on All-America honors in the 1650 freestyle by fewer than four seconds on Saturday, setting a new personal record at 14:50.33 to finish in 19th-place.  The Gamecocks end the week 27th in the overall team standings, tallying three consolation final appearances in addition to Minuth’s sixth-place finish in the 500 freestyle.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS RECAP:
Friday Recap
South Carolina’s men had two individual All-America performances on the third night of the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.  Itay Goldfaden earned All-American status in the 100 breaststroke while true freshman Anton Down-Jenkins qualified for the three-meter diving consolation final to earn All-America honors in his first NCAA Championships appearance.

Down-Jenkins, competing in his first-career NCAA Championships, put up a 63.00 on his second dive off of the 3-meter in prelims, a reverse 2 1/2 somersault pike (3.0).  The true freshman had his next two dives score in the 60’s and finished with a 55.80 and a 57.00 from the judges to sneak into qualifying position for the consolation final by just .80.

A native of Wellington, New Zealand, Down-Jenkins went on to average a 56.41 during the consolation final, highlighted by an improvement to 66.00 on his reverse 2 1/2 somersault pike (3.0).  The true freshman finished the consolation final in fifth with a score of 338.45.

Goldfaden, the 2019 SEC Champion in the 100 breaststroke, was unable to break the 52-second mark but came into the wall just .57 seconds slower than his first-place finish (51.72) at last month’s SEC Championships. 

The Gamecocks junior finished fourth in heat four to qualify for the consolation final with a 13th-place finish during prelims.  Goldfaden later finished at 52.54 to secure his All-America status in the event for a second-straight season.

Thursday Recap
Reigning SEC Champion in the 500 freestyle, Fynn Minuth, finished the championship final of the 500 with a 4:12.72, finishing sixth in the event for South Carolina on the second of four nights at the men’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships from the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.

Minuth, who won the SEC Title last month with a 4:11.98, is now a three-time All-American in the event, having previously set the Carolina school record as a sophomore with a 4:09.55.  Minuth, a member of the German National Team, becomes just the second swimmer in program history to be named a three-time All-American in the 500 free after Akram Mahmoud became the first to do so last season.  He is also one of just five swimmers in Carolina history to earn three-straight All-America honors in the same individual event.

Minuth went 4:12.74 during the prelims session to finish sixth in the final qualifying heat.  He finished prelims less than two full seconds off of the pace and followed up with his second-fastest time of the season to claim first-team All-America honors.

Rafael Davila finished third in the third qualifying heat of the 500 freestyle with a 4:16.30, his second-fastest time of the season.

QUOTEABLE– HEAD SWIMMING COACH MCGEE MOODY:

“Our men and women had two very good weeks here in Austin.  We had the opportunity to see some student-athletes compete at the national level for our program for the very  first time while a few of the others wrapped up some historic careers. I couldn’t be more proud of how each of our groups competed over the past two weeks.”

QUOTEABLE– HEAD DIVING COACH TODD SHERRITT:

“Anton did a great job this week.  He had a slow start on the one-meter, but came back on the three-meter and did a solid job.  Most freshman have a difficult time even getting there, so a 13th-place finish with All-America honors is a great way to start off your collegiate career.  We had some issues seeing the water here, especially on his 305b.  When he got into the meet, though, he was able to spot the water and drill two 305b’s in the prelim and consolation. That dive really set him up for a great meet. I am extremely happy with what he’s been able to do here. Hopefully we will be in a position to win this meet in the near future.”

UP NEXT:
The Gamecocks will turn their attention to preparing for TYR Pro Series and international competition this summer in preparation for the 2019-20 NCAA season.

For more swimming updates, follow South Carolina Swimming and Diving on Twitter at @GamecockSwim.