Gamecocks Close Out Midseason with New Pool Records
Columbia, S.C. – The South Carolina swimming and diving teams concluded action at their respective midseason invites on Friday.
For the swimmers at the Gamecock Invitational, the women claimed first out of the field of eight teams with a total of 1,988 points. The next closest team was Vanderbilt with 961.50 points.
The men’s swimmers came out in second place out of their field of five teams. Tampa took first place with 1,534 points with the Gamecocks following with 1,270 points.
For the divers at the Tennessee Invitational, the women had one finalist in the 1-meter event and one NCAA Zone qualifying score on the men’s platform.
Gamecock Invitational
The Gamecock women started the night off with a 1-2 finish in the 1650 free during their first time competing the event this season. Senior Hayley Mason touched first in 16:41.88 followed by fellow senior Alicia Davie with a 16:44.67.
South Carolina’s men went 2-3-4-5 in the 1650 free. Freshman Connor Fry was the first Gamecock to touch the wall (15:05.08), followed in third place by Umut Yildirim (15:16.87), Raymond Prosinski in fourth (15:19.72) and Jose Castro in fifth (15:33.32).
Bella Pantano lowered the pool record in the women’s 200 back. She swam a 1:54.20 for first place to lower the previous record of 1:54.82 that was set by teammate Tia Salcutan last season. Sophomore Amy Riordan followed Pantano up in second place with a new personal best time of 1:54.45.
Junior Wylie Kruse was the top performing Gamecock in the 200 back for the men. He swam a time of 1:45.15 for second place.
In the women’s 100 free, sophomore Dylan Scholes claimed the win with a new personal best time of 49.00. Aubrey Chandler (49.29) followed her up in second place with Peyton Curry (49.77) in third.
For the men, Mark Shperkin tied the 100 free pool record with a time of 43.25 to claim the win in the event. Teammate Michael Laitarovsky was the next Gamecock to touch, completing his swim in 43.92 for third place. His time is a new personal best.
The women swept the leaderboard of the 200 breast with a 1-2-3-4 finish. Laura Goettler placed first (2:12.35), Meaghan Harnish second (2:13.64), Georgia Johnson third (2:15.39), and Annaliese Streeter fourth (2:16.09). Harnish’s time was a new personal best.
Liam Kerns earned the highest-placement in the 200 breast for South Carolina’s men. His time of 2:00.18 landed him in fourth place. Senior Daniel West was also in the finals heat for the event, placing sixth with a time of 2:00.66, his fastest time of the season.
South Carolina’s women earned another leaderboard sweep in the 200 fly with Greta Pelzek topping things off with a new pool record of 1:54.83. She was followed by Nicholle Toh (1:56.98), Jordan Agliano (1:56.99), Breckin Gormley (2:00.17), and Paige Collins (2:00.19).
Ahmed Rateb, Luke DeVore, and Gage Hulbert went 2-3-4 in the 2000 fly for the men. Rateb’s time of 1:47.03 is the best time he has swam so far in his career as a Gamecock.
The women closed out the meet with a 1-2 finish in the 400 free relay. Riordan, Scholes, Curry, and Chandler took first with a 3:16.87, followed by Toh, Ellery Ottem, Hannah Wachendorfer, and Riley Parker with a 3:21.87.
Shperkin, Laitarovsky, Quinn Buck, and Ryan Hufford teamed up to wrap the invitational up for the Gamecocks in third place. Their time of 2:56.61 is the fastest so far this season and ranks at No. 9 in the program’s all-time top-10.
Tennessee Invitational
In the men’s platform event, freshman Max Spencer earned an NCAA Zone cut in his first time competing the event collegiately. He well surpassed the standard score of 300 with a score of 368.10 to land him in third place. His score books him a spot in the event at the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships in March.
For the women, junior Blair Isenhour was again the top performer, earning herself a spot in the finals with a 12th-place finish in the prelims. She retained her spot at No. 12 in the finals of the event with a final score of 254.20.
Up Next for the Gamecocks
The conclusion of the Gamecock and Tennessee Invitationals marks the end of the collegiate competition season for South Carolina this fall. Selected members of the team will compete on the international level at the USA Diving Nationals and the US Open in late November and early December.
The next NCAA competitions will be in January with the divers heading to the Tennessee Diving Invitational in Knoxville and the swimmers taking a trip to Gainesville to face Florida.
For all the latest South Carolina swimming and diving information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockSwmDive).
Tennessee Invitational Results
Women’s 1-meter
Prelims
12 – Blair Isenhour – 255.85
22 – Mak Blake – 237.70
42 – Josie Matalone – 168.75
Finals
12 – Blair Isenhour – 254.20
Men’s Platform
3 – Max Spencer – 368.10
14 – Tyler Hoard – 193.80
