Gamecocks Win Six Events in Season Opener
COLUMBIA, S.C.— South Carolina swimming and diving took home five event wins in its season opening meet against Tennessee Friday morning at the Carolina Natatorium. The Volunteers claimed both team victories – 199-99 on the women’s side and 202-94 on the men’s side.
Gamecock Notables
-Freshman Taylor Steele took home the first victory of her Gamecock career, taking first in the 100m Breaststroke. Steele, who finished with a time of 1:13.21, outpaced the field by more than a second.
– Senior Emily Cornell continued her dominance in the backstroke at South Carolina, winning the 100m . Cornell is the current program record holder in both backstroke events events.
– Senior Lionel Khoo took home the final individual victory for the gamecocks in the 200m IM. Khoo’s time of 2:11.52 beat the field by nearly two seconds.
-The Gamecock women won their first relay event of the year, taking home a win in the 400m free relay. senior Christina Lappin, Emily Cornell, freshman Emma Alexander and senior Edith Lingmann secured the win with a 3:55.21 time.
– The Gamecock men closed the meet with a win in the 400m free relay. The team of junior AJ Ross, sophomore Lewis Burras, sophomore Phil Costin and freshman Guy Gropper won the event with a 3:33.69 time.
-Diving saw three of its members reach the NCAA Zone Qualifying standards. Junior Yu Qian Goh qualified for the one-meter while both junior Grant Summers and freshman Mathilda Roxne qualified for both the one-meter and three-meter events. Roxne placed second in the three-meter competition with a score of 312.98.
QUOTEABLE: HEAD SWIMMING COACH MCGEE MOODY
“We had some good races, and we had some not so good races today. My biggest concern was that we got out-touched on a quite a few close races. We just have to be tough and fight when it hurts the most. We’re a young team, and I know our leaders will take care of that.”
QUOTEABLE: HEAD DIVING COACH TODD SHERRITT
“To dive like this, this early in the year, I’m really happy. We hit a lot of objectives today. Grant Summers had a fantastic meet. He got his NCAA scores, which is huge; Mathilda Roxne got her scores. Mathilda got her scores on two simple and easy dives, which is awesome to see. I was very happy with the way things went.”
Up next for the Gamecocks
The Gamecocks will pack their bags and head to Lexington, Ky., as the men will battle Kentucky while the women will face both Kentucky and Ohio on Fri., Oct. 18.
For more swimming updates, follow South Carolina swimming and diving on Twitter and Instagram at @GamecockSwim.
