Pelzek, Riordan Wrap Season with All-American Honors
Athens, Ga. – South Carolina women’s swimming completed the NCAA Championships on Saturday with a pair of All-American honorable mentions.
The team’s first accolade of the night was given to sophomore Amy Riordan who advanced to the finals of the 200 back after having placed 10th in the prelims with a 1:52.21. In the finals, she swam a 1:53.32 that put her in 15th place overall.
Riordan is South Carolina’s first Gamecock woman to earn All-American honors in a backstroke event since Michelle McCarthy in 1993.
Also in the 200 back was senior Bella Pantano who placed 22nd in the country with a time of 1:53.37. The time was a new personal best and puts Pantano at fourth in the program’s all-time top-10.
South Carolina’s other newly-crowned All-American is junior Greta Pelzek. Pelzek swam a 1:53.44 in the prelims of the 200 fly to place ninth and earn the top seed in the B-finals. In the finals she swam a 1:53.47 to placed 10th overall. Pelzek and Riordan are South Carolina’s women’s first All-American swimmers since 2020.
Also in the 200 fly prelims were Nicholle Toh and Jordan Agliano who placed 38th and 43rd respectively.
Meaghan Harnish was South Carolina’s final individual event competitor of the day. The sophomore swam the 200 breast where she placed 58th with a 2:13.84.
The Gamecocks also had an entry in the 400 free relay where Riordan, Dylan Scholes, Peyton Curry, and Ellery Ottem teamed up to swim a 3:15.13 to place 23rd. The time makes the team second in the program’s all-time top-10, behind only Riordan, Scholes, Curry and Aubrey Chandler’s 3:14.62 that they swam at the SEC Championships.
Pelzek’s 10th-place finished garnered seven points for the team while Riordan’s 15th-place finished got the team two points. The combined nine points put the team in 31st place overall.
The end of the NCAA Championships marks the conclusion of the season for South Carolina’s women. The men will compete at their NCAA Championships next week with freshmen Connor Fry and Max Spencer representing the team. The men’s NCAA will begin on Wednesday, March 27 in Indianapolis.
For all the latest South Carolina swimming and diving information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockSwmDive).
Results
200 back
Prelims
10 – Amy Riordan – 1:52.21
22 – Bella Pantano – 1:53.37
Finals
15 – Amy Riordan – 1:53.32
200 breast
Prelims
58 – Meaghan Harnish – 2:13.84
200 fly
Prelims
9 – Greta Pelzek – 1:53.44
38 – Nicholle Toh – 1:56.95
43 – Jordan Agliano – 1:58.02
Finals
10 –Greta Pelzek – 1:53.47
400 free relay
23 – Riordan, Scholes, Curry, Ottem – 3:15.13
