Swimming and Diving . January 14, 2023

Gamecocks Fall to No. 9/10 Georgia

Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina swimming and diving fell to No. 9/10 Georgia on Saturday at the Carolina Natatorium. The 24th ranked Gamecock women scored 119 points to No. 9 Georgia’s 181, while the men fell 109.5-189.5 to Georgia’s tenth ranked men’s team.

South Carolina’s divers swept their portion of the competition, with three individuals accounting for wins in all four diving events.

Gamecock Notables

South Carolina’s relay’s went 2-3 in a tight 200 medley relay race. The Gamecock ‘B’ team placed second, just barely over a tenth of second behind Georgia’s first place finishing team that finished in 1:40.53. The Gamecock ‘A’ team placed third just behind them, adding only a quarter of a second more to their time for a 1:40.89.
Junior Hayley Mason set a new personal best time in the 1000 free, swimming a time of 10:00.83. She lowered her personal best time by nearly a second and a half.
Freshman Megan Maholic touched the wall second in the 100 back with a time of 54.46.
Senior Emily Horomanski and sophomore Greta Pelzek went 2-3 in the 200 fly, finishing with times of 2:00.27 and 2:00.48, respectively.
Senior Janie Smith placed second in the 50 free with a time of 23.44, her second fastest time of the season.
Sophomore Paige Collins recorded her first individual event win of the season in the 100 fly. Collins touched the wall in 54.43 seconds to place first.
Victoria Kwan, Laura Goettler, and Meaghan Harnish went 2-3-4 in the 200 IM. Kwan led the Gamecocks with a time of 2:02.92.
Sophomore Sophie Verzyl won the women’s 1-meter diving event with a score of 320.10. It was her second 1-meter event win of the season, having won the event previously at the dual at Alabama.
Graduate Brooke Schultz claimed the win on the 3-meter springboard with a score of 357.15. This win marks Schultz’s sixth 3-meter win of the season.

South Carolina’s ‘A’ relay team touched just shy of the win in the 200 medley relay to start the meet, finishing in 1:27.63 to Georgia’s 1:27.63.
Sophomore Michael Laitarovsky continued his dominance in the 100 backstroke, winning it with a time of 47.41. This marks his seventh 100 back win of the season.
Junior Daniel West tied for first place in the 100 breaststroke. West and Georgia’s Kris Pitshugin both touched in 56.50 seconds.
Freshman Gage Hulbert earned his first career individual event win. The Jacksonville, Florida, native swam a career best time of 1:48.72 to finish first. He was closely followed by senior Luke DeVore who finished in 1:48.77.
Senior Guy Gropper placed second in the 50 free, swimming a 20.47, his second fastest time of the season.
Patrick Groters, Wylie Kruse, and Chase Allison finished 2-3-4 in the 200 IM. Groters time of 1:50.48 led South Carolina in the event.
Senior Manny Vazquez Bas swept the men’s springboard events, scoring a 341.85 on the 1-meter and a new career-best score of 405.75 on the 3-meter.

Head Coach Jeff Poppell on the Team’s Performance

“Unfortunately, today we had a lot of close races that went to Georgia. I felt that our kids competed tough from start to finish of the meet and our divers continue to do a great job and are looking very strong heading into SECs in February.

We enjoyed the opportunity to recognize our seniors in front of friends and family at our final home meet of the season. They are a tremendous group that have made numerous contributions to the University of South Carolina throughout their careers. We will truly miss them next year however they have laid a fantastic foundation of the culture that we seek to build upon in the future.”

Up Next for the Gamecocks

South Carolina diving will conclude the home portion of their schedule next Saturday, Jan. 21 as they take on Davidson in a dive-only dual. The meet will get started at 10 a.m.
For all the latest South Carolina swimming and diving information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockSwim).