Six Gamecocks Earn All-SEC Honors
Carolina had four make it to the All-SEC First Team, one second team honoree and one freshman all-conference recipient.
COLUMBIA, S.C.– South Carolina men’s and women’s swimming and diving combined for six All-SEC honors, which were announced by the league office Wednesday. Carolina’s four conference champions (Emma Barksdale, Itay Goldfaden, Fynn Minuth and Marissa Roth) were recognized as first team all-conference performers, Rafael Davila was named to the All-SEC Second Team, and Anton Down-Jenkins was named to the SEC All-Freshman team.
For the All-SEC Teams, the first team consists of the top finisher in each event at the SEC Championships, and the second team consists of the second- and third-place finishers in each event. The All-Freshman Teams consist of any redshirt or true freshman who finished either in the top eight or is the highest scoring freshman of each event at the SEC Championships, excluding relay events.
Emma Barksdale became just the second female swimmer in Carolina history to win an individual SEC title, winning the 400 IM at the SEC Championships with a school record 4:01.52. She later joined a short list of just seven female swimmers in the program’s history to be named All-American in the same individual event for three-consecutive seasons after earning first team All-America honors in the 400 IM at the NCAA Championships.
With his gold medal performance at SEC’s in the 500 freestyle, Fynn Minuth followed in the footsteps of former teammate, Akram Mahmoud, becoming the only other swimmer in Carolina history to win three-consecutive SEC Championships in the same individual event.
Sophomore Itay Goldfaden was named First Team All-SEC for the first time in his career after winning the 100 breaststroke at the SEC Championships with a career-best 51.72.
After returning to competition for the Gamecocks after sitting out the 2017-18 season, Marissa Roth became just the second diver in the program’s history to win an individual conference championship in the platform.
Davila earns second team all-conference honors after his third-place finish in the 1650 freestyle at the SEC Championships. Down-Jenkins was named to the SEC All-Freshman team after qualifying on the 1-meter springboard in the top-eight, his first career event at the SEC Championships.
For more swimming updates, follow South Carolina Swimming and Diving on Twitter at @GamecockSwim.
