South Carolina
The South Carolina swimming and diving team concluded the FGCU Classic in Ft. Myers, Fla. on Saturday afternoon with the Gamecock men claiming the title with 427 points and the women tallying 346 points for a third place finish.
South Carolina finished with a 13-point lead over second-place Grand Canyon University on the men’s side. The Gamecocks won six of the day’s nine events. Buffalo (353) and FAU (297) placed third and fourth, respectively, to complete the men’s standings. Ohio State took first place in the women’s competition with 410 points while FGCU (394.5) and South Carolina (346) rounded out the top three. Rutgers (297.5), Buffalo (258) and Grand Canyon (247) finished fourth through sixth, respectively.
Sophomores Akram Mahmoud and Nils Wich-Glasen each won two events on the second day of the meet. Mahmoud claimed first place in the 500 freestyle (4:25.02) and 200 butterfly (1:49.27) while Wich-Glasen’s wins came in the 200 breaststroke (2:03.19) and 200 IM (1:51.79). Senior Kevin Leithold also secured a pair of wins for the Gamecocks with first-place finishes in the 100 IM (51.02) and 100 freestyle (45.37).
Sophomore Tomas Peribonio won both consolations heats he raced in, taking first in the 100 IM (51.55) and 200 IM (1:52.81). Freshman Cody Bekemeyer won the consolation heat of the 500 freestyle (4:29.84) and junior Jonathan Boland placed first in the consolation heat of the 100 freestyle (45.49).
In the 200 backstroke Bryce Kananowicz finished second with a time of 50.90 while Caleb Tosh took second in consolation heat (52.32). Freshman Fynn Minuth added a second place finish in the consolation heat of the 200 butterfly (1:52.14).
Freshman Paige Maynard had another big day for the Gamecocks as she won the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:00.25. Fellow freshman Emma Barksdale added a pair of third-place finishes in the 100 IM (58.18) and 200 breaststroke (2:20.31). Also racing in the 200 breaststroke, sophomore Kersten Dirrane finished first in the consolation heat (2:20.55).
Sophomore Taylor Worrell touched the wall third in the 500 freestyle (5:01.88) and junior Megan Carlson placed fourth in the consolation heat (5:06.18).
NOTABLES
• The Gamecock men won six of the day’s nine events, including six of seven individual races.
• Mahmoud won all three individual events he raced in over the two-day meet.
QUOTABLE
South Carolina Head Coach McGee Moody
This was a good start out of the gate. We’ve been doing some heavy training leading up to this meet. Our freshmen really stepped up for us and proved they can handle the training. We have a few weeks before our dual meet season starts. We’ll get some more training in and look forward to more fast races as our season continues.
UP NEXT
The Gamecock men open South Carolina’s home slate when they host Purdue on Oct. 24 at the Blatt P.E. Center/Carolina Natatorium.
Ohio State
Ohio State won its first meet of the season on Saturday, taking home first place in the inaugural FGCU Eagle Swimming Classic.
The Buckeyes entered the day with a slim one-point lead over Florida Gulf Coast, but quickly relinquished that advantage after the first event of the day, the 400 IM relay. The Eagles would sweep that event and the next as well to jump out ahead of Ohio State by 16.5 points.
Lindsay Clary notched the first victory of the day for Ohio State in the 500 freestyle; her time of 4:52.75 in the championship final was nearly six seconds faster than anyone else. Taylor Vargo’s victory in the 200 breaststroke (2:16.24) helped close that gap between the Buckeyes and FGCU.
In the next two events, the 100 backstroke and 100 freestyle, an Ohio State swimmer finished ahead of an FGCU swimmer in both the championship and consolation finals, earning critical points in the Buckeyes’ favor. In the 100 backstroke Zulal Zeren earned a win in the consolation final with a time of 55.82. Liz Li (50.04) and Annie Jongekrijg (51.58) finished in first place in the 100 freestyle, putting Ohio State just a half-point behind hosts FGCU.
In the second-to-last event of the meet, Clary (2:02.72) and Meg Bailey (2:04.87) won the 200 IM to put their team back on top. In the final event of the weekend, the 200 freestyle relay, the Buckeyes won both heats to clinch their first team win of the season.
Rutgers
After participating in its first competitive event of the 2015-16 season, the Rutgers swimming team concluded the Florida Gulf Coast University Classic on Saturday fourth with a score of 297.5.
“We had another great day as a group and saw a lot of improvement and fast times for this time of the year,” said head coach Petra Martin. “I'm proud of the whole group for stepping it up, racing with confidence and having a great attitude. We learned a lot this weekend but also improved a lot and had a great time together.”
Fellow Big Ten Conference member Ohio State finished first at the invite with team total of 410, followed by the host Eagles with a score of 394.5. South Carolina rounded out the top three with a team mark of 346.
After an impressive first day, senior Joanna Wu (Kent, Wash.) continued her strong start to the season. Wu collected another NCCA B qualifying standard time, this time with a first-place mark of 54.94 in the 100 backstroke. Wu also produced a qualifying standard time of 1:58.71 in the 200 backstroke on Friday.
“Having Wu secure two qualifying marks this weekend is a real confidence builder with all the things we have worked on this summer and the last few weeks with her,” Martin said.
Senior Morgan Pfaff (Red Lion, Pa.) contributed the Scarlet Knight’s other individual title, tying for first in the 100 individual medley with a time of 57.94. Pfaff also delivered a third-place finish in the 400 individual medley on Saturday, hitting the wall at 4:28.67.
Junior Rachel Stoddard (Hillsborough, N.J.) contributed her second, second-place finish during weekend action, completing the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:03.47.
In relay action, RU produced third-place times in the 200 and 400 medley relay. Pfaff, Stoddard, Wu and junior Meghan Kiely (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) hit the wall third in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:43.74. The quartet then collected a time of 3:47.53 to in the 400 medley relay to finish out Saturday’s competition.
Rutgers returns to action beginning Friday, Oct. 16, when the Scarlet Knights host the Sonny Werblin Invitational at the Rutgers Aquatic Center.
Team Scores:
Ohio State, 410
Florida Gulf Coast, 394.5
South Carolina, 346
Rutgers, 297.5
Buffalo, 258
Grand Canyon, 247
