Women Split Results, Men Fall in Tri-Meet
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina swimming & diving completed their first home meet of the season with the women splitting results between Texas A&M and Virginia Tech and the men’s team falling in both duals in front of a crowd that was over one thousand strong.
On the women’s side, the Gamecocks defeated the Hokies 188-122 but fell to the Aggies 101-199. For the men, Texas A&M claimed the win 193-102 while Virginia Tech won 202-95.
Gamecock Notables
- The Gamecock women’s ‘A’ team of Bella Pantano, Annaliese Streeter, Nicholle Toh and Aubrey Chandler placed second in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:41.99.
- South Carolina’s men’s ‘A’ relay team of Michael Laitarovksy, Daniel West, Linus Kahl, and Mark Shperkin claimed third place in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:29.50.
- The men’s freshmen distance duo of Connor Fry and Umut Yildirim earned a 4-5 finish in the 1000 free. Fry swam a 9:27.38 while Yildirim finished with a 9:29.88.
- Sophomore Amy Riordan earned a second-place finish in the 200 free, swimming a 1:49.00.
- Youssef Bahgat and Raymond Prosinski went 5-6 in the 200 free for the men. Bahgat finished with a time of 1:41.34 and Prosinski with a 1:42.48.
- Pantano and Tia Salcutan earned a 2-3 finish in the 100 back with Pantano touching the wall in 55.02 for second and Salcutan close behind at 55.17 for third.
- In the men’s 100 back, Laitarovsky claimed the first event win of the day for South Carolina. His time of 47.74 put him on top.
- Streeter and senior Laura Goettler went 3-4 in the women’s 100 breast. Streeter touched the wall in 1:04.61 and Goettler in 1:04.70.
- Junior Greta Pelzek was the highest-placing Gamecock in the 200 fly, finishing second. She swam a 1:59.97.
- Chandler and sophomore Dylan Scholes went 4-5 in the 50 free for the women. Chandler swam a 23.74 and Scholes a 23.77.
- Shperkin and Jackson Davis placed 5th and 6th in the men’s 50 free. Shperkin touched the wall in 20.72 and Davis in 21.08.
- Chandler got right back in the water after the break and improved her placement in the 100 free, swimming a 51.12 for second place.
- Salcutan earned her second third-place finish of the day in the 200 back with a time of 1:58.08.
- Wylie Kruse earned South Carolina’s highest placement in the men’s 200 back. His sixth-place finish came with a time of 1:50.28.
- Goettler earned her second podium finish of the day in a breaststroke event, placing third in the 200 breast with a time of 2:19.19.
- Duda Sumida continues to solidify herself as an efficient all-around swimmer, placing third in the 500 free. Her time of 4:56.89 was just over a second off from the first-place finisher.
- Prosinski is quickly proving himself as an asset in middle-distance events for the team. He placed fifth in the 500 free with a time of 4:34.88.
- Toh and Pelzek earned a 2-3 finish in the 100 fly with Toh in second with a 54.08 and Pelzek in third with a 55.44.
- Sumida again made a mark for the team, claiming the women’s first event win of the day in the 200 IM with a time of 2:02.92. She was followed in third place by Goettler (2:05.66) and in fifth place was Pelzek (2:05.73).
- In the 400 free relay, South Carolina’s ‘A’ team of Scholes, Chandler, Toh, and Riordan placed second with a time of 3:24.15.
- The men’s team closed out the meet with a 3:03.87 in the 400 free relay that was good for fourth place overall. Freshman Ryan Hufford, Shperkin, Laitarovsky, and sophomore Quinn Buck combined for the time.
- On the dive side of things, junior Blair Isenhour led the women’s team. She placed fifth on the 1-meter with a 261.45 and third on the 3-meter with a 296.78.
- For the men’s divers, freshman Max Spencer led the team with a second-place finish on the 3-meter (362.70) and a fourth-place finish on the 2-meter. He was followed by sophomore Charley Bayer who placed sixth on the 3-meter (308.48) and third on the 1-meter (319.73).
Head Coach Jeff Poppell on the Team’s Performance
“What a great atmosphere today at the Carolina Natatorium with over a thousand people in attendance. We really enjoyed the opportunity to compete against both Texas A&M and Virginia Tech. Their men’s programs are two of the best in the nation and the experience for our men is exactly what we need as we seek to close the gap in the years to come. For our women, we came up short against the Aggies but earned a great win against a good Virginia Tech team that is consistently one of the best in the ACC. We had a number of our women post in-season bests, which is great this early in the year, and our freshmen continue to take strides each and every week.”
Up Next for the Gamecocks
South Carolina will head back on the road for the next dual, traveling to Charlotte, N.C., to take on Queens. The meet will be on Friday, Oct. 20 and will begin at 4:00 p.m.
For all the latest South Carolina swimming and diving information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockSwmDive).