South Carolina Press Release
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The University of South Carolina swimming and diving program wrapped up a successful weekend at the SC College Invitational to defeat UNCW, East Carolina, Wingate and Queens on Saturday at the Carolina Natatorium in Columbia, S.C.
On the women’s side, Emma Barksdale led the squad with two event victories including the 1000-yard freestyle and 400-yard IM. Julia Vincent remained undefeated on the weekend as she claimed first place in the 1-meter dive. Katie Shannahan took first place in the 100-yard butterfly, McKenna Keith won the 50-yard freestyle and Mairyn Branaman finished first in the 100-yard backstroke. The women’s team also won the 200-yard medley relay.
For the men, Jordan Gotro won the 3-meter dive, Tom Peribonio captured first place in the 1000-yard freestyle and Cody Bekemeyer won the 400-yard IM.
Barksdale set a new pool record today in the 1000-yard freestyle with her time of 9:49.68. The previous best was set by Isabelle Arnould in 1991 with a time of 9:50.14.
South Carolina’s women defeated East Carolina 185-132, Queens 179-128, UNCW 182-137 and Wingate 175-120. The Gamecock men topped Wingate 180-131, UNCW 177-130, Queens 195-146 and East Carolina 178-137.
QUOTING HEAD SWIMMING COACH MCGEE MOODY
We were very, very solid today. From an energy standpoint, we might have been a little bit down this morning from where we were last night. I think there were some athletes that had some races over the past two days that are worthy of taking note. Fynn Minuth’s 1:45.69 in the 200 fly was a great swim.
We got to see a 26-year old record go down today. Emma Barksdale is our first young lady to ever break 9:50 in the 1000 free. To do that in a dual meet is special. It sets us up with a lot of confidence moving into next weekend at the UNC meet, where our non-SEC team will go. These last meets set the tone for what our racing looks like in February and March.
I am very proud of our young people. They are swimming fast, and I think their minds and goals are in the right place.
QUOTING HEAD DIVING COACH TODD SHERRITT
Today we did a lot of volume and workout. The purpose of that was to try to fatigue them just a little bit and see how they would perform. I thought they did a pretty good job. We have some holes that showed up again today that we have working to get rid of. That is the thing we have to adjust for two weeks from now.
We are exactly where we should be. There isn’t anyone that is behind of where we should be now. I feel very good about that. That’s very unusual to see a whole team arrive at the same time at this point. Now I have two weeks to do some tweaking. We also have to think in terms of national championships, not just conference championships. So we have to be careful that we don’t peak and then come back down again. I’m trying to get this team to a level of diving where they can maintain that level for three or four weeks. That’s been difficult to do, but I would have to say this team is doing it.
MEN’S RECAP
Gotro earned his second podium finish of the weekend on the 3-meter board, taking first with a score of 338400, with Lyle Markman finishing in fifth with a mark of 234.75.
The Gamecock men finished second in the 200-yard medley relay, then came back with a first-place finish in the 1000-yard freestyle by Peribonio with a time of 9:15.83 and a fourth place finish by Travis Morrin after swimming a time of 9:32.98.
Fynn Minuth had the highest finish in the 100-yard butterfly for the Gamecocks with a time of 49.30, good for second place. In the 50-yard freestyle, Carter Bennett led South Carolina with a time of 21.44 to finish sixth.
Will Countie swam into third place in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 50.52. Jeremiah Bohon took fourth place in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:04.71, followed by Thomas Hang in fifth at 2:05.13.
In the 200-yard freestyle, Akram Mahmoud had the best finish for Carolina at second place after a time of 1:38.79. Mahmoud was .12 seconds away from the first place finisher.
Bekemeyer earned first place in the 400-yard IM after he swam a time of 3:55.31. Jack Smith followed in third place with a time of 4:00.75.
The last race of the day was the 400-yard freestyle relay where Carolina finished third and sixth.
WOMEN’S RECAP
The Gamecocks continued to shine on the boards, with Vincent taking first place with a score of 305.45 and Marissa Roth earning third with a 249.45 mark.
South Carolina took first and sixth in the 200-yard medley relay, then followed up with a first place finish in the 1000-yard freestyle by Emma Barksdale with a time of 9:49.68.
Shannahan led the Gamecocks in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing first in a time of 56.56.
Keith won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.90, with Meredith Vay finishing third in 24.09. Branaman earned first place in the 100-yard backstroke after she swam a time of 56.94, and Kersten Dirrane took third place with a time of 57.10.
Brittany Oxley led Carolina in the 200-yard breaststroke with a third place finish in a time of 2:20.89. Emily Cornell finished second in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:52.05.
Barksdale posted the highest finish for the Gamecocks in the 400-yard IM with a time of 4:18.04, good for first place.
South Carolina finished second and third in the 400-yard freestyle relay to round out the evening.
Queens Press Release
COLUMBIA, S.C.- The Queens University of Charlotte men’s swim team found seven first place swims during the final day of the South Carolina Invitational on Saturday, January 28, 2017. Despite not having a diving team, Queens tallied the win over three of their four dual meet competitions.
The Royals topped East Carolina 181-163, before adding the win against Wingate with a score of 238-77 and against UNC-Wilmington with a score of 229-112. Queens would fall to division I program, South Carolina 195-146.
“Both our men and women had a spectacular day of racing,” said Head Coach Jeff Dugdale. “To win seven of nine events on the final day for the men and for the women to compete and win the events they did, gives us momentum going into the conference championships.”
Starting the day with the top time in the 200 yard medley relay, the Royals saw Marius Kusch, Rostyslav Fedyna, Paul Pijulet, and Dmytro Sydorchenko, respectively take the event by a second difference. Queens posted a time of 1:28.76 to start the day strong.
Kusch added a first place finish to his individual performance claiming the top spot in the men’s 100 yard butterfly. His time of 48.50 was nearly a second faster than the pool. Moments later, Kusch took the top swim in the 200 yard freestyle clocking a 1:38.63. Dion Dreesens touched in third place with a 1:39.14 in the event.
Adding another first place finish to the team’s day, Sydorchenko raced for a 20.43 in the 50 yard freestyle to out-touch his competitors. Mitchell Harwood battled his way into the top three of the event, earning the third spot with a 21.17.
Pijulet took his turn at the top of the meet, reaching the wall first in the 100 yard backstroke. With nearly a second-and-a-half lead, Pijulet clocked a 48.39 to claim his first place spot.
Taking the 200 yard breaststroke, Fedyna earned the top time with a 2:01.14. He secured the swim after battling into the wall to nudge out East-Carolina’s swimmer Will Hicks for the finish.
Two Queens’ swimmers landed in the top three of the 1000 yard freestyle as Nicholas Arakelian led the way with the second fastest swim of the night. He would reach the wall with a time of 9:27.81. Hector Tricas battled his way into the top three, taking third place with a time of 9:29.85.
Arakelian followed with a second place in the 400 yard individual medley. He saw his way to the wall with a time of 3:55.59, narrowly missing the top touch.
The team of Kusch, Pijulet, Sydorchenko, and Dreesens, respectively, finished the day with the top swim in the 400 yard freestyle relay. The four clocked a 2:59.41 for the event.
South Carolina took all four dual matchups finding a 180-131 win over Wingate, a 177-130 win over UNCW, and a 178-137 win over East Carolina. East Carolina saw wins over Wingate (200-129) and UNCW (200.5-130.5) while UNCW tab the victory over Wingate (184-157).
The Royals will now turn their attention to the Bluegrass Conference Meet. The league event will be held in downtown Charlotte at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center. The meet is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, February 8th.
COLUMBIA, S.C.- The Queens University of Charlotte women’s swim team topped UNC-Wilmington and Wingate in the South Carolina Invitational. The two day meet, which concluded on Saturday, January 28, 2017, saw the Royals tally the wins despite not having a diving team present at the event.
Queens tabbed the win over UNC-Wilmington with a 207-134 score and the win over Wingate with a 202-113 score. The Royals would fall to division I programs East Carolina (185-155) and South Carolina (179-128).
“Both our men and women had a spectacular day of racing,” said Head Coach Jeff Dugdale. “To win seven of nine events on the final day for the men and for the women to compete and win the events they did, gives us momentum going into the conference championships.”
Following the success of the day prior, the women’s 200 yard medley relay, comprised of Hannah Peiffer, Shelly Prayson, Alexandra Marshall, and Kyrie Dobson, respectively, added a second place finish to the Royals score sheet. The four swimmers found a 1:45.55 for their silver placement.
McKenzie Stevens clocked the fastest swim in the 200 yard freestyle, securing the team’s only first place finish of the day with a 1:51.78.
Earning a spot in the top three, Josefina Lorda-Taylor dropped her entry time in the 100 yard butterfly to tab a 57.31 for third overall. Lorda-Taylor added a third place finish later in the meet, clocking a 4:28.76 in the 400 yard individual medley.
Just missing the top swim, Dobson reached the wall with a 24.03 in the 50 freestyle. She was followed by Marshall who took fourth place with a time of 24.30.
Breaking up a string of South Carolina swimmers, Peiffer added herself into the mix of the 100 yard backstroke. She reached the wall in second place, clocking a 57.01.
Dasha Talanova found herself with a 2:19.10 in the 200 yard breaststroke. She claimed the second fastest time in the event, adding another top finish to the Royals day.
Queens concluded the day securing the 400 yard freestyle relay. Dobson, Marshall, Stevens, and Prayson, respectively, raced to the wall for a time of 3:23.30, topping the event by three seconds.
South Carolina was the top team of the day, finding dual meet wins over East Carolina (185-152), UNC-Wilmington (182-137), and Wingate (175-120). East Carolina walked away with victories over (200-149) and Wingate (210-129) while Wingate secured the win over UNC-Wilmington (189-152).
The Royals will now turn their attention to the Bluegrass Conference Meet. The league event will be held in downtown Charlotte at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center. The meet is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, February 8th
Wingate Press Release
Columbia, S.C.----The Wingate University men's and women's swimming teams completed the 2016-17 regular season by participating in a five-team meet hosted by the University of South Carolina Friday and Saturday. In addition to the USC Gamecocks, Bluegrass Mountain Conference members Wingate and Queens were involved in the two-day event. East Carolina and UNC Wilmington completed the field (Saturday results).
"This was one of our best performances at USC over the past five years," Wingate head swimming coach Kirk Sanocki says. "The results may not show on the score board...but in preparation for what we use this weekend to accomplish...we consider this weekend a success."
"We use this event to get our swimmers prepared for a conference championship run and qualifying our swimmers for NCAAs," Sanocki says. "We had strong seasonal performances across the board. We are very optimistic for the upcoming BMC championships."
Wingate women's recap
Wingate defeated UNC Wilmington by a score of 189-152. Bulldog junior Alex Divelbiss (Pueblo, Colo.) continued her solid season with a fourth-place showing in the 100 Butterfly (57.37) and a fifth-place finish in the 400 Individual Medley (4:31.93). WU freshman Ebba Stillman (Huskvarna, Sweden) was fifth in the 100 Butterfly with her time of 57.58.
Stillman helped the Bulldogs finish fifth in both the 200 Medley Relay (1:48.07) and the 400 Freestyle Relay (3:31.55). She was joined on the 200 Medley Relay squad by junior Mariona Espinalt (Barcelona, Spain), senior Jessika Weiss (Macon, Ga.) and sophomore Maria Madsen (Dragoer, Denmark). Weiss was fifth in the 200 Breaststroke with her 2:23.18 clocking.
On the 400 Freestyle Relay quartet, Stillman was accompanied by freshman Ashlynn Weissgerber (Trussville, Ala.), newcomer Leticia Odorici (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and freshman Jordan Clark (Katy, Texas). In her first weekend in the Navy Blue and Vegas Gold, Odorici gave Bulldog fans a glimpse of her potential as she finished fourth in the 200 Freestyle with her time of 1:53.81.
Clark was seventh in the 50 Freestyle with her time of 24.48, while senior Erika Kaspersson (Eslöv, Sweden) was seventh in the 1000 Freestyle with her time of 10:35.24. Bulldog junior Miranda Seegars (Monroe, N.C.) was sixth in the 100 Backstroke with her 58.40 clocking.
Wingate men's recap
The Bulldogs concluded the USC event by finishing fourth in the 400 Freestyle Relay with a time of 3:06.30. Team members (in order) include seniors Leif-Henning Klüver (Risum-Lindholm, Germany), Lucas Cuadros (Cali, Colombia) and Mehdi Zeraidi (Brussels, Belgium) and redshirt sophomore Lennart Queiss (Langen, Germany).
Individually, Queiss was seventh in the 200 Freestyle with his time of 1:42.05. Freshman Ben Evans (Dover, England) was sixth in the grueling 1000 Freestyle with his time of 9:35.20. Freshman Ryan Capote (Miramar, Fla.) was eighth in the 50 Freestyle (21.55), while classmate Leo Zabudkin (Frankfurt, Germany) was eighth in the 200 Breaststroke (2:06.68).
Wingate will host the Bluegrass Mountain Conference championship meet Feb. 8-11 at the Mecklenburg County Aquatics Center pool in downtown Charlotte. The Wingate men have won seven BMC titles, while the Bulldog women have four BMC championship trophies.
