Swimming and Diving . November 7, 2025

Gamecock Women Pick Up First Win Over Tar Heels Since 1985

COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 17 South Carolina women’s swimming and diving team defeated No. 14 North Carolina, 176-124, for the first time since 1985. Despite a back-and-forth effort, the men fell, 125.5-174.5, ultimately splitting the results between the two teams.

WOMEN

Amy Riordan, Liz Goodwin-Birnie, Taylor Grimley and Dylan Scholes gave the Gamecocks the momentum they needed, claiming the very first event of the meet in the 200 medley relay. The quartet recorded the seventh-fastest time in program history (1:38.06).
Highlighting the women’s victory was Riordan, who found the wall first and set a new pool record in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:52.28.
Jordan Agliano earned her fourth 200 butterfly win of the season with a time of 1:56.05. She finished second in the 100 butterfly, clocking a time of 53.85.
Nora Fluck kept her streak alive, picking up the win in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 9:44.12. Emma Reiser finished second, recording a 9:47.58.
Breckin Gormley grabbed her first victory of the day in the 200 freestyle, securing the win with a time of 1:47.15. Gormley also grabbed a win in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:46.51.
Delaney Franklin took home the 200 breaststroke title with a time of 2:10.58. Meghan Harnish finished fourth, clocking a time of 2:14.60.
Dylan Scholes earned herself a win in the 50 freestyle for the third time this season, tallying a time of 22.55.
Taylor Grimley grabbed her lone win of the night in the 100 butterfly with a time of 53.77.
To end the night, the 400 freestyle relay team finished second. The team of Riordan, Scholes, Sofia Luper and Ellery Ottem recorded a time of 3:18.34.
On the diving side, senior Sophie Verzyl got the job done, taking both the 1-meter (342.75) and the 3-meter (347.03) dive victories.

MEN

The 200 medley relay team of Ryan Hufford, Einar Agustsson, Eldor Usmonov and Quinn Buck picked up the win with a time of 1:25.65, the ninth-fastest in program history.
Connor Fry earned his second 1000 freestyle win of the season with a time of 9:00.83. He also finished fourth in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:30.31.
Merlin Ficher grabbed a second-place finish in the 200 backstroke with a 1:45.07.
Ryan Hufford got it done in the 100 backstroke, earning the win with a time of 47.23, the ninth-fastest in program history.
Eldor Usmonov completed the Gamecock sweep in the 100 butterfly with his own win, notching a time of 46.72.
Pierre Largeron sealed another South Carolina sweep in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:24.94. Largeron picked up a third-place finish in the 200 freestyle, setting a time of 1:36.41.
Raymond Prosinski recorded a third-place finish also in the 500 freestyle with his time of 4:28.50.
In a thrilling 400 freestyle relay race, Bexon Harrison, Pierre Largeron, Ryan Hufford, and Eldor Usmonov finished second with a time of 2:54.49, only .23 seconds behind North Carolina.
Charley Bayer claimed the 1-meter title, earning a score of 356.93 alongside Max Spencer, who grabbed the 3-meter win with a score of 370.43.

Head Coach Jeff Poppell on the Team’s Performance

“I’m very proud of the way our men and women competed today against an always tough UNC team. For our women, that was the first victory against the Tarheels in 40 years. We had a lot of great performances throughout, but the seniors were huge for us. Although we came up short on the men’s meet, it was clear that the steps we have taken as a program which is encouraging as we approach the halfway point of the season. Looking forward to seeing our teams compete one last time this Fall at the Gamecock Invitational in 10 days.”

Up Next for the Gamecocks
South Carolina will host the 2025 Gamecock Invitational from Nov. 18-21. Nine teams, including South Carolina, will compete in a four-day multi-event competition. The diving team will travel to Knoxville, Tenn., to compete in the Tennessee Invitational.