South Carolina Men Oust Duke, Blue Devil Women Down Gamecocks, UNCA

Duke vs South Carolina vs UNC Asheville

• January 20, 2024
• Columbia, S.C.
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results

Courtesy: Duke Athletics

DURHAM – Led by strong showings on the diving boards and competitive results in both the relay’s and individual events, the No. 17-ranked Duke women defeated No. 21 South Carolina, 170-130, and UNC Asheville, 244-56, on Saturday afternoon in Columbia, S.C.

NOTEABLES

• Junior diver Margo O’Meara had a strong outing on the one-meter event, finishing first and producing a score of 312.30. Graduate student Ali Watson joined O’Meara on the podium, collecting a second-place finish with a score of 290.25.
• O’Meara followed up her first-place finish on the three-meter board, placing second with a score of 312.15. Watson once again joined the podium with O’Meara, finishing third in the event with a score of 311.78.
• In the 200 Yard Medley Relay, the combination of Ali Pfaff, Kaelyn Gridley, Aleyna Ozkan and Tatum Wall, touched in first with a time of 1:39.93.
• On the men’s side, the 200 Yard Medley Relay team consisting of Michael Jiang, Blake Johnson, David Chang and Milo Shue, nearly finished on the podium, clocking a time of 1:32.09.
• Sophomore Audrey Portello touched in second in the 1,000 Yard Freestyle, posting a time of 10:09.85.
• Junior Yixuan Chang tallied another first-place finish for the Blue Devils, pacing the field in the 200 Yard Freestyle with a time of 1:48.80.
• Junior Johnson, also collected a podium in the men’s 200 Yard Freestyle, touching in second with a time of 1:40.02.
• A duo of freshman finished first and third in the women’s 100 Yard Backstroke, as Pfaff (54.03) touched in first, while Molly Donlan (54.83) finished third.
• Gridley continued her dominance in the 100 Yard Breaststroke, finishing first by nearly a full second, touching in at 1:01.96. Senior Catherine Belyakov finished third in the event, clocking a time of 1:03.62.
• Sophomore Martina Peroni continued the Blue Devils surge in the 200 Yard Butterfly, finishing first with a time of 1:58.34.
• On the women’s side of the 50 Yard Freestyle, the Blue Devils swept the first two podium spots, as Wall (23.22) and KyAnh Truong (23.55) occupied those spots.
• Pfaff doubled up on her first-place finishes in the Backstroke events, winning the 200 Yard Backstroke with a time of 1:57.90. Donlan also placed on the podium in the event with another third-place finish.
• Freshman Kalen Anbar posted a third-place finish in the men’s 200 Yard Breaststroke, narrowly chasing down the second-place finisher with a time of 2:05.46.
• Sophomore’s Austin Simpson and JC Castrillon finished second and third in the men’s 500 Yard Freestyle on Saturday. Simpson clocked a time of 4:46.26, while Castrillon posted a time of 4:55.03.
• Ozkan and Peroni continued to score points for the Blue Devils, this time in the 100 Yard Butterfly event. Ozkan clocked a time of 54.14, while Peroni touched in with a time of 54.26.
• The Duke women swept the podium in the 200 Yard IM, as Sarah Foley (2:01.87), Belyakov (2:02.05) and Peroni (2:02.35) finished in order. Sophomore Portello was in the mix down the stretch finishing fourth in the event as well.
• Jiang and Anbar followed up the women’s performance with their own podium spots in the men’s 200 Yard IM. Jiang finished second with a time of 1:52.02, while Anbar posted a time of 1:56.03 for third place.

UP NEXT
The Blue Devils return to the friendly confines of the Taishoff Aquatic Center this week, hosting No. NR/20 North Carolina on Friday and No. 8/2 Texas on Saturday morning. Friday’s meet against North Carolina is scheduled as the Blue Devils Centennial meet, recognizing 100-years of Duke University.

Courtesy: South Carolina Athletics

Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina swimming & diving recorded a pair of wins on Saturday in its final home meet of the season. The women split results on the day with a 254-46 win over UNC-Asheville and a 130-170 loss to No. 17 Duke while the men claimed their first win of the season with a dominant 204-91 win over the Blue Devils.

Gamecock Notables

• South Carolina’s women’s ‘C’ relay team of Megan Maholic, Caroline Kudela, Paige Collins, and Aubrey Finn placed second in the 200 medley relay from the first heat of the event. The group combined for a time of 1:41.39.
• The Gamecock men started the meet off with a win in the 200 medley relay. Michael Laitarovsky, Linus Kahl, Ahmed Rateb, and Mark Shperkin combined for a time of 1:29.02 for the win.
• Freshman Grace Daniels won the 1000 free for the women with a time of 10:07.48. She was followed in third place by sophomore Meaghan Harnish with a 10:15.08. The win was a career-first for Daniels.
• South Carolina’s men swept the 1000 free with Connor Fry in first (9:18.48), Raymond Prosinski in second (9:24.42), Tommy Mitchell in third (9:34.13), and Umut Yildirim in fourth (9:44.11).
• Sophomore MaKayla Ciancanelli recorded the best finish of her career, placing second in the 200 free with a time of 1:48.98. She was followed by Riley Parker in third (1:49.39) and Ellery Ottem in fourth (1:49.53).
• Sophomore Jose Castro won the 200 free for the men, winning at the touch in 1:39.94. Kyle Korvick and Wylie Kruse also finished in scoring position in third and fourth place respectively.
• Maholic was the top-placing Gamecock in the women’s 100 back, earning second with a time of 54.69.
• Laitarovsky remained undefeated in the 100 back, winning it with a 48.35. Freshman Ryan Hufford and senior Sam Hanke both also finished in scoring position with Hufford in third and Hanke in fourth.
• In the women’s 100 breast, senior Georgia Johnson came in second place with a time of 1:02.76. The finish was her highest placement of the season.
• The Gamecock men earned another sweep, this time in the 100 breast. Kahl finished first with a 55.18 followed by Daniel West (55.31), and Liam Kerns (56.32).
• The women completed a 2-3-4-5 finish in the 200 fly with Breckin Gormley leading the Gamecocks with a time of 1:58.99. Jordan Agliano placed third for the team, followed by Greta Pelzek, and Nicholle Toh.
• South Carolina’s men continued to dominate the meet with a sweep of the 200 fly. Sophomore Gage Hulbert won the event, his first event win since the season opener, with a time of 1:48.51. He was followed by Luke DeVore (1:50.69), Youssef Bahgat (1:53.84), and Rateb (1:55.14).
• The sweeps continued in the 50 free with Shperkin claiming first (20.33), Quinn Buck taking second (20.45), and Jackson Davis taking third (20.71).
• The Gamecock women earned a sweep of their own in the 100 free with senior Aubrey Chandler leading the way in first followed by Hannah Wachendorfer and Dylan Scholes in second and third.
• Shperkin claimed this second individual event win of the day in the 100 free where he touched first in 44.63. Laitarovsky followed him in second place (45.51), and Buck placed third (45.95).
• Pia Murray earned her best finish as a Gamecock in her second dual competing for the team. She placed second in the 200 back with a 1:58.49.
• Kruse made a comeback to win the 200 back, winning it in the final 25 yards with a time of 1:47.16.
• Freshman Delaney Franklin earned the first event win of her career in the 200 breast, touching the wall in 2:12.77, a new career-best time.
• West and Kerns went 1-2 in the 200 breast for the men, winning it at the touch. West swam a 2:05.27 and Kerns a 2:05.29 with Duke’s third-place finisher touching in 2:05.46. The win was a career-first for West.
• Gormley earned her first career win as a Gamecock in the 500 free. The Ottawa, Ontario, native swam a time of 4:52.63, a new career best.
• Fry went two-for-two in distance events on the day, taking his second win in the 500 free with a time of 4:30.81.
• Toh was the women’s top-placer in the 100 fly, coming in third with a 54.26.
• Kahl earned his second individual event win of the day in the 100 fly, touching the wall in 48.30 and then went on to record a third individual win in the 200 IM. His time of 1:48.51 is the fastest on the team so far this season.
• South Carolina’s women closed out the day with a second-place finish in the 400 free relay with Amy Riordan, Chandler, Ottem, and Scholes combining for a time of 3:24.27.
• The men wrapped up the meet just as strong as they started with a win in the 400 free relay. Shperkin, Laitarovsky, Buck, and Hufford teamed up to swim a 3:01.32 for the win.
• On the dive side of things, sophomore Charley Bayer and freshman Max Spencer went 1-2 on the 1-meter board. Both Gamecocks’ score achieved NCAA Zone qualifying standards with Bayer scoring a 341.10 and Spencer a 307.35.
• Spencer went on to record a second-place finish on the 3-meter board with another Zone qualifying score of 328.88.
• For the women, junior Blair Isenhour won the 3-meter event with a Zone qualifying score of 317.03.
• On the women’s 1-meter board freshman Aislinn Zuechner was the top-placing Gamecock in third with a score of 269.25, the first Zone qualifying score of her career.

Head Coach Jeff Poppell on the Teams Performance

“I’m so extremely proud of our men and how they competed today. They’re coming together at the right time and today’s performances should provide them with confidence heading into SECs. Senior Daniel West won his first event as a Gamecock which was awesome to see. Our women were a little up and down throughout the meet however we did see some great things from several of our younger swimmers including freshmen Grace Daniels and Delaney Franklin and sophomore Breckin Gormley registering their first wins as Gamecocks. Today, we honored a special group of 17 seniors who have made a significant impact to our swimming and diving program and the University of South Carolina. These student-athletes have been tremendous leaders for us this year and we’ll miss them greatly.”

Diving Coach Mike Wright on the Teams Performance

“I was pleased with our performance on the boards today. Our captains lead the way as both captured a win in today’s events. Charley started things off winning one meter with a score of 341.10. Blair also won the women’s 3 meter with a score of 317. 03. Momentum is building as we close out the season next week at Georgia Tech.”

Up Next for the Gamecocks

South Carolina will conclude the dual season on the road at Georgia Tech on Fri., Jan. 26 at 3:00 p.m. The dual will take place at the McAuley Aquatic Center and will air on the ACC Network Extra.

Courtesy: UNCA Athletics

COLUMBIA, S.C. – UNC Asheville Women’s Swimming and Diving dropped its tri-meet on Saturday (Jan. 20), falling to South Carolina 254-46 and to Duke 244-56.

Morgan Coughlen notched a 10^th-place finish with a score of 226.05 to lead Asheville in the one-meter diving event, while Jade Canady posted a score of 213.53 to finish 11^th. Leigha Travis (187.95), Haley Fein (177.08), Amelia Ward (166.73) and Kindal Culpepper (166.50) also competed in the event for Asheville. Coughlen then paced Asheville in the three-meter diving event with an eighth-place finish (232.88), while Canady placed 10^th with a score of 218.48. Travis (203.70), Culpepper (194.48), Ward (181.88) and Fein (179.03) also competed in the event for Asheville.

“We have been working on consistency and it showed,” said Diving Coach Matthew Macon. “We had several divers hit all 12 dives and score very close to personal bests. This is a great step in our preparation for conference championships next month.”

Asheville was paced by the quartet of Grace Adams, Abby Parks, Taylor Smith and Caroline Crouse in the 200-yard medley relay with a seventh-place finish in 1:48.32, while Amelia Presley, Beatrice Cocconcelli, Anna Marcotti and Ava Kilpatrick finished eighth in 1:49.92. Tess Peny, Gracelyn Cox, Chloe McDonald and Olivia Ciancimino finished ninth in 1:52.83, while Rachel Daly, Jane Brierley, Addison Wright and Alexis Walker finished 10^th in 1:54.30. Caitlin Hefner paced the Bulldogs in the 1000-yard freestyle with a sixth-place finish in 10:29.16, while Anna Kate Halligan finished ninth in 10:56.64. Rose Sciaudone took 10^th in 11:04.10, while Julie Lahiff finished 11^th in 11:07.81. Marcotti led the Bulldogs with a seventh-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:55.33, while Kilpatrick finished right behind her in eighth in 1:55.44. Alessia Cunegatti finished 10^th in 1:57.62, while Presley finished 11^th in 2:01.89. Gaby Shenot also swam the event in 2:00.41. Adams led Asheville in the 100-yard backstroke with a ninth-place finish in 58.32 seconds, while Danai Gkogkosi finished 10^th in 58.84 seconds. Wright finished 11^th in 1:01.92, while Daly also finished 12^th in 1:05.26. Miriam Wheatley paced Asheville with an eighth-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:07.09, while Smith finished tied for ninth in 1:07.14 with teammate Cocconcelli. Cox also finished 11^th in 1:07.20.

Riley Edmundson led Asheville with a seventh-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly in 2:06.34, while Crouse finished eighth in2:07.53. McDonald finished ninth in 2:09.99, while Peny finished 12^th in 2:16.18 and Lahiff also swam the event in 2:17.41. Parks posted an eighth-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle in 23.93 seconds, while Marcotti finished 10^th in 24.46 seconds. Ciancimino took 11^th in 25.47 seconds, while Daly took 12^th in 26.55 seconds. Parks would also finish fifth in the 100-yard freestyle in 52.18 seconds, while Crouse finished eighth in 53.16 seconds and Gkogkosi took ninth in 54.27 seconds. Ciancimino also finished 11^th in 56.29 seconds. Cunegatti finished eighth in the 200-yard backstroke in 2:08.04, while Adams finished ninth in 2:08.76. Kilpatrick took 11^th in 2:11.40, while Presley finished 12^th in 2:14.73. Wright also swam the event in 2:14.59. Wheatley posted an eighth-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:25.24, while Cocconcelli finished 10th in 2:27.65 and Edmundson took 11^th in 2:28.02. Cox also finished 12^th in 2:29.56. Hefner finished eighth in the 500-yard freestyle in 5:11.25, while Cunegatti finished ninth in 5:14.67. Sciaudone (5:21.74) and Halligan (5:23.68) finished 11^th and 12^th respectively in the event.

Asheville finished eighth through 11^th in the 100-yard butterfly, with Smith (57.48 seconds) in eighth, McDonald (57.67 seconds) in ninth, Gkogkosi (1:01.50) in 10^th and Sciaudone (1:02.35) in 11^th. Walker also swam the event in 1:03.89. Crouse led the Bulldogs with a ninth-place finish in the 200-yard IM in 2:09.80, while Wheatley finished 10^th in 2:11.89. Edmundson finished 11^th in 2:12.84, while Halligan took 12^th in 2:14.77. Lahiff (2:16.80) and Peny (2:18.42) also swam the event for Asheville. The team of Marcotti, Parks, Kilpatrick and Gkogkosi finished seventh in the 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:34.91, while Cunegatti, Hefner, Adams and Cocconcelli finished eighth in 3:39.36.

The Bulldogs (7-4, 2-0 ASUN) return to the water on Saturday (Jan. 27) to face UNC Pembroke for swimming’s Senior Day. The action begins at 11:00 a.m. from the Justice Center Pool, with video available at www.uncabulldogs.com.