LSU v. South Carolina
- October 8, 2022
- Carolina Natatorium – Columbia, SC
- SCY (25 Yards)
- Full Results
Final Scores
- Women: South Carolina – 161.5 v. LSU – 138.5
- Men: LSU – 157 v. South Carolina – 143
Women’s Meet
Maggie MacNeil continued rewriting the LSU school record books in the team’s dual against SEC foes South Carolina. After taking down the 100 backstroke and 100 freestyle records in her LSU dual meet debut, she broke the 100 butterfly and 50 freestyle records in South Carolina.
Her first school record came in the 50 freestyle. She rocketed to the win in 21.90, clipping the ten year-old school record held by Amanda Kendall by .02 seconds. MacNeil holds a lifetime best of 21.17 from 2021 NCAAs, so it’s fair to expect her to lower that record again this season.
Next, she took down the school record in the 100 fly, hitting the wall in 50.84. That time betters LSU’s previous record by almost a second, which was set at 51.71 in 2019 by Hailey Knight. It’s also the first time in NCAA history that a woman has broken 51 seconds in the event while unsuited. It’s a blistering time for October, and if her first dual meet wasn’t indication enough, it’s clear MacNeil has found her groove again after an up and down summer.
Despite her record breaking swims, LSU lost the meet to South Carolina by 23 points. It was the Gamecocks depth that helped them take the win in the back and forth meet; in every event but one that LSU won, South Carolina swimmers finished second and third.
They had plenty of their own wins, though — junior Georgia Johnson earned her second breaststroke sweep of the season. She won the 100 breast in 1:02.47, then followed that up with a 2:15.38 to take first in the 200. Similarly, graduate diver and 2022 SEC Co-Diver of the Year Brooke Schultz swept the diving, winning both the 1- and 3-meter boards.
Though South Carolina lost Mari Kraus, their NCAA-qualifying backstroker to graduation, they’ve reloaded with a huge freshmen class and graduate transfers Victoria Kwan (from Michigan) and Tatiana Salcutan (from Louisville). Both add serious firepower to a team that’s aiming to continue building their momentum under second-year head coach Jeff Poppell. With the incoming speed and returning talent, the Gamecocks should be a team to watch for throughout the season.
Men’s Meet
It was an even closer meet on the men’s side, with LSU narrowly defeating South Carolina by 14 points.
Brooks Curry, the defending NCAA champion in the 50 and 100 freestyle, notched wins in both those events. He won the 50 free in 19.45, which currently stands as the second-fastest time in the NCAA this season behind only Jordan Crooks‘ 19.36 from Tennessee’s dual with UNCW. Curry turned heads a couple weeks ago when he dropped a hand-timed 41.6 (ish) suited 100 free at the end of practice. he followed that up here by winning in 43.25, almost two seconds ahead of his teammate, freshman Andrew Garon.
One of the most intriguing narratives surrounding the LSU men this season is whether they will qualify any relays for NCAAs. Last year, they missed the 400 free relay cut time by just over a second. They return all four legs of that relay and have brought a strong recruiting class that includes Garon, which gives them plenty of options as they try to put together a winning combination.
Garon also took second in the 200 freestyle in 1:39.92, .05 seconds behind teammate Joel Thompson. That time is less than half a second away from his lifetime best 1:39.58, which he swam in March 2022.
Along with Curry, LSU’s Mitch Mason also won two events. He swept the breaststrokes, taking the 100 in 55.12 and the 200 in 2:02.32.
For the Gamecocks, it was fifth-year Rafael Davila earning two event wins. He controlled the distance races, winning the 1000 in 9:14.79 and following up with 4:29.23 for the win in the 500.
They got the meet started with a bang: Patrick Groters held off a charging Curry to take the win in the 200 medley relay in 1:29.37. The LSU quartet out-split them on three legs of the relay, but sophomore Michael Laitarovsky led the Gamecocks off with a 21.97 backstroke split which proved to be the difference maker. Laitarovsky put his speed on display again in the 100 back, touching first in 48.18.
Last season, South Carolina finished last at SECs; however, they were only 87.5 points behind LSU, a huge improvement from 2021 when they finished almost 200 points behind. Their now senior class played a big role in that effort, scoring double the amount of points than their next highest scoring class. They lost here, and SECs is a whole different beast than a dual meet, but the close score could point to an even tighter meet at the bottom of the conference standings this season.
Maggie most likely could rewrite the record books at many of the Universities
is that 500 winning time a typo or…?
She should go for every single record
She’s only ever gone 1:04 in the 100 breast at the record is a 58. Additionally, Maggie has never recorded times in the 500 yard free, 200 yard breast, 1000 yard free, 1650 yard free, or 400 yard IM.
She’s just gonna have to go Dolphinovich style and she can get it done.
“Maggie has never recorded times in the 500 yard free, 200 yard breast, 1000 yard free, 1650 yard free, or 400 yard IM.” Not only is she fast, but smart too!