Gamecocks Conclude Trip to Knoxville
Knoxville, TN – The Gamecock men and women each placed fifth at the Tennessee Invitational. The women scored 405.5 and the men scored 405. The Gamecocks will bring home two first place wins and two second place finishes in diving as well as a second place finish in the men’s 200 free from Phil Costin.
Carolina’s top performance of the day came from diver Manny Vazquez Bas. The junior achieved an NCAA Zone qualifying score of 369.75 in the platform dive to secure second place. This was his sixth Zone qualifying score of the season and first in the platform dive.
Gamecock Notables
- The Gamecocks had competitors qualify for the final rounds in every event of the competition for both swimming and diving on the men’s and women’s side.
- In the women’s 200 backstroke, senior Mari Kraus and freshman Bella Pantano both placed in the top-10 and achieved B-cut times. Kraus secured second by hitting the wall in 1:55.08 and Pantano touched the wall in 1:56.22.
- Laura Goettler and Georgia Johnson both achieved B-cut times in the 200 breaststroke. Goettler placed 11th with a time of 2:12.54 and Johnson placed 13th with a time of 2:13.55.
- Freshman Greta Pelzek swam a B-cut time of 1:57.87 in the 200 fly which ranks sixth in the program record book.
- Haley Arner and Hayley Mason both placed in the top-10 of the 1650 free. Arner placed seventh with a time of 16:34.92 while Mason placed eighth with a time of 16:37.73. Arner now ranks as the sixth fastest Gamecock of all time and Mason ranks ninth.
- Costin achieved yet another high placement in the freestyle events on the final day of competition. He placed sixth in the 100 free with a B-cut time of 43.40.
- Junior Patrick Groters placed eighth in the 200 back with a time of 1:51.03
- In the 1650 free, Tamas Novoszath and Rafael Davila finished fourth and sixth respectively with B-cut times. Novoszath swam a 15:22.82 while Davila swam a 15:25.38.
The Gamecock divers will be competing next at the USA Diving Nationals in Bloomington, IN, December 13-18. The full team will be back in action in the spring semester.
For all the latest South Carolina swimming and diving information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockSwim).
