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Gamecocks Register Pair of Wins on Senior Day
Swimming and Diving  . 

Gamecocks Register Pair of Wins on Senior Day

Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina swimming & diving recorded a pair of wins on Saturday in its final home meet of the season. The women split results on the day with a 254-46 win over UNC-Asheville and a 130-170 loss to No. 17 Duke while the men claimed their first win of the season with a dominant 204-91 win over the Blue Devils.

Gamecock Notables

  • South Carolina’s women’s ‘C’ relay team of Megan Maholic, Caroline Kudela, Paige Collins, and Aubrey Finn placed second in the 200 medley relay from the first heat of the event. The group combined for a time of 1:41.39.
  • The Gamecock men started the meet off with a win in the 200 medley relay. Michael Laitarovsky, Linus Kahl, Ahmed Rateb, and Mark Shperkin combined for a time of 1:29.02 for the win.
  • Freshman Grace Daniels won the 1000 free for the women with a time of 10:07.48. She was followed in third place by sophomore Meaghan Harnish with a 10:15.08. The win was a career-first for Daniels.
  • South Carolina’s men swept the 1000 free with Connor Fry in first (9:18.48), Raymond Prosinski in second (9:24.42), Tommy Mitchell in third (9:34.13), and Umut Yildirim in fourth (9:44.11).
  • Sophomore MaKayla Ciancanelli recorded the best finish of her career, placing second in the 200 free with a time of 1:48.98. She was followed by Riley Parker in third (1:49.39) and Ellery Ottem in fourth (1:49.53).
  • Sophomore Jose Castro won the 200 free for the men, winning at the touch in 1:39.94. Kyle Korvick and Wylie Kruse also finished in scoring position in third and fourth place respectively.
  • Maholic was the top-placing Gamecock in the women’s 100 back, earning second with a time of 54.69.
  • Laitarovsky remained undefeated in the 100 back, winning it with a 48.35. Freshman Ryan Hufford and senior Sam Hanke both also finished in scoring position with Hufford in third and Hanke in fourth.
  • In the women’s 100 breast, senior Georgia Johnson came in second place with a time of 1:02.76. The finish was her highest placement of the season.
  • The Gamecock men earned another sweep, this time in the 100 breast. Kahl finished first with a 55.18 followed by Daniel West (55.31), and Liam Kerns (56.32).
  • The women completed a 2-3-4-5 finish in the 200 fly with Breckin Gormley leading the Gamecocks with a time of 1:58.99. Jordan Agliano placed third for the team, followed by Greta Pelzek, and Nicholle Toh.
  • South Carolina’s men continued to dominate the meet with a sweep of the 200 fly. Sophomore Gage Hulbert won the event, his first event win since the season opener, with a time of 1:48.51. He was followed by Luke DeVore (1:50.69), Youssef Bahgat (1:53.84), and Rateb (1:55.14).
  • The sweeps continued in the 50 free with Shperkin claiming first (20.33), Quinn Buck taking second (20.45), and Jackson Davis taking third (20.71).
  • The Gamecock women earned a sweep of their own in the 100 free with senior Aubrey Chandler leading the way in first followed by Hannah Wachendorfer and Dylan Scholes in second and third.
  • Shperkin claimed this second individual event win of the day in the 100 free where he touched first in 44.63. Laitarovsky followed him in second place (45.51), and Buck placed third (45.95).
  • Pia Murray earned her best finish as a Gamecock in her second dual competing for the team. She placed second in the 200 back with a 1:58.49.
  • Kruse made a comeback to win the 200 back, winning it in the final 25 yards with a time of 1:47.16.
  • Freshman Delaney Franklin earned the first event win of her career in the 200 breast, touching the wall in 2:12.77, a new career-best time.
  • West and Kerns went 1-2 in the 200 breast for the men, winning it at the touch. West swam a 2:05.27 and Kerns a 2:05.29 with Duke’s third-place finisher touching in 2:05.46. The win was a career-first for West.
  • Gormley earned her first career win as a Gamecock in the 500 free. The Ottawa, Ontario, native swam a time of 4:52.63, a new career best.
  • Fry went two-for-two in distance events on the day, taking his second win in the 500 free with a time of 4:30.81.
  • Toh was the women’s top-placer in the 100 fly, coming in third with a 54.26.
  • Kahl earned his second individual event win of the day in the 100 fly, touching the wall in 48.30 and then went on to record a third individual win in the 200 IM. His time of 1:48.51 is the fastest on the team so far this season.
  • South Carolina’s women closed out the day with a second-place finish in the 400 free relay with Amy Riordan, Chandler, Ottem, and Scholes combining for a time of 3:24.27.
  • The men wrapped up the meet just as strong as they started with a win in the 400 free relay. Shperkin, Laitarovsky, Buck, and Hufford teamed up to swim a 3:01.32 for the win.
  • On the dive side of things, sophomore Charley Bayer and freshman Max Spencer went 1-2 on the 1-meter board. Both Gamecocks’ score achieved NCAA Zone qualifying standards with Bayer scoring a 341.10 and Spencer a 307.35.
  • Spencer went on to record a second-place finish on the 3-meter board with another Zone qualifying score of 328.88.
  • For the women, junior Blair Isenhour won the 3-meter event with a Zone qualifying score of 317.03.
  • On the women’s 1-meter board freshman Aislinn Zuechner was the top-placing Gamecock in third with a score of 269.25, the first Zone qualifying score of her career.

Head Coach Jeff Poppell on the Teams Performance

“I’m so extremely proud of our men and how they competed today. They’re coming together at the right time and today’s performances should provide them with confidence heading into SECs. Senior Daniel West won his first event as a Gamecock which was awesome to see. Our women were a little up and down throughout the meet however we did see some great things from several of our younger swimmers including freshmen Grace Daniels and Delaney Franklin and sophomore Breckin Gormley registering their first wins as Gamecocks. Today, we honored a special group of 17 seniors who have made a significant impact to our swimming and diving program and the University of South Carolina. These student-athletes have been tremendous leaders for us this year and we’ll miss them greatly.”

Diving Coach Mike Wright on the Teams Performance

“I was pleased with our performance on the boards today. Our captains lead the way as both captured a win in today’s events. Charley started things off winning one meter with a score of 341.10. Blair also won the women’s 3 meter with a score of 317. 03. Momentum is building as we close out the season next week at Georgia Tech.”

Up Next for the Gamecocks

South Carolina will conclude the dual season on the road at Georgia Tech on Fri., Jan. 26 at 3:00 p.m. The dual will take place at the McAuley Aquatic Center and will air on the ACC Network Extra.

For all the latest South Carolina swimming and diving information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockSwmDive).

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