South Carolina and the University of Kentucky renewed their SEC rivalry Friday night in Lexington, KY at the Lancaster Aquatics Center with a season-opening dual that ended with the visiting men thumping the Wildcats 207.5 – 92.5 and the Lady Wildcats protecting their pool with a 177-123 win.
You have to flip the calendar back nearly four years to January 2011 to see when these two teams last met in a dual meet, which looked a lot like Friday night’s contest with the South Carolina men and Lady Wildcats splitting the wins.
Under Gamecock head coach McGee Moody, who is in his eighth year at South Carolina, the men are now 3-1 and the women 0-4 against Kentucky. The all-time tally between the teams is in Kentucky’s favor, as they own a 13-7 record against the women and a 12-8 one against the men.
GAMECOCK MEN TILT THE POOL FOR 14 OF 16 WINS
The latest contest in the men’s series was a convincing one for the Gamecocks, who smothered the Wildcats with five one-two finishes, three top-three results, wins in all relays, and a first-to-forth sweep in the 200-yard breaststroke.
“I’m extremely excited by our performance today,” said head coach Moody in a story on the Gamecocks website. “This is by far the best group effort – both men and women – that I’ve seen in my seven years coaching at South Carolina. Our men were dominant. They raced like they wanted it.”
Standing out in a strong team performance was 6’4” freshman Nils Wich-Glasen, who picked up three victories to start his collegiate career. The German won the 100-yard breaststroke (55.49), the 200-yard breaststroke (1:59.86), and the 200-yard IM (1:50.33). He also introduced himself to the Gamecock record book by posting a fifth all-time best in the 200-yard breast and a 10th all-time best in the 100-yard breast.
Double-event winners came from sophomore Jonathan Boland, redshirt junior Kevin Leithold and junior Marwan El Kamash. Canadian diving senior Cole Miller also won two events, taking the one-meter and three-meter contests to contribute big points.
Boland’s two wins came in the 100-yard backstroke (49.94) and the 100-yard fly (50.59). Leithold, a German compatriot of his teammate Wich-Glasen, won the 50-yard free (20.68) with an early-season personal best time, and then he won the 100-yard (44.87) free, while the Egyptian middle distance specialist El Kamash took the 200-yard free (1:40.04) and the 500-yard free (4:34.28).
The trio of Boland, Wich-Glasen and Leithold teamed up with Michael Covert to win the 200-yard medley relay (1:30.69), and then Leithold and Covert joined El Kamash andPatrick McCrillis to win the the 400-yard free relay (3:01.68).
Solid freshmen results came not only from Wich-Glasen but also Bryce Kanaowicz, who picked up his first collegiate win in the 200-yard fly (1:51.20), Tomas Peribonio, who in his collegiate debut placed third in the 1,000-yard free (9:15.54) with a mark that is seventh all-time in the school’s record book, and Bobby Bittner, whose second-place finish in the 100-yard fly (50.60) was nearly a win, as he was .01 seconds slower than Boland’s winning time.
The Wildcats didn’t allow a sweep in their pool, as Canadian Zachary Zandona won the 200-yard backstroke (1:50.63) and Brandon Flynn took the 1,000-yard freestyle (9:17.26).
LADY WILDCAT NCAA QUALIFIERS PUT UP MULTIPLE INDIVIDUAL WINS
Kentucky sophomore swimmer Danielle Galyer and seniors Christina Bechtel and Abby Myers balanced out South Carolina men’s domination Friday night with their own brand by putting up a combined seven individual and two relay wins, plus each notched an NCAA ‘B’ cut.
Galyer earned three individual wins with the 100-yard backstroke (55.18), the 200-yard backstroke (1:58.45, which is an NCAA ‘B’ cut), and the 200-yard individual medley (2:04.03). Galver started her winning evening with a leadoff role in the Wildcats winning 200-yard medley relay team (1:42.98) with sophomore Kendra Crew, Myers and Kristen Wilson.
Bechtel also won three events on Friday, taking the 100-yard fly (53.18, an NCAA ‘B’ cut), the 50-yard free (23.3), and the 200-yard free (1:49.53).
Adding to her leg in the winning 200-yard medley relay, Myers was an individual winner in the 200-yard fly (1:59.76) and part of the winning 400-yard free relay (3:27.99) with Kendal Casey, Wilson, and Blair Kuethe. Myers also earned an NCAA ‘B’ cut with her second-place finish in the 100-yard fly (54.48).
“Christina Bechtel was great,” said head coach Lars Jorgensen in a story posted on the Wildcat’s website. “She won all three of her events, and 53.18 is a really good time in the 100 fly right now. I was really happy with her 200 free as well. Danielle (Galyer) continues to improve as well. All best in-season times for her…. Abbey Myers was also really good, so our returning NCAA qualifiers right now are doing a great job.”
In addition to contributing to the winning relay performances for the Lady Wildcats, Crew won the 200-yard breast stroke (1:06.97) and sophomore Casey edged out South Carolina’sVictoria Mitchell by 0.33 in the 500-yard free (4:54.00). Casey held off the hard-charging Mitchell, who beat her earlier in the night for first place in the 1,000-yard free.
For the Gamecocks, senior Mitchell, junior Ellen Johnson, and freshman Meredith Vay all won events. Mitchell took the 1,000-yard free in a new personal best (9:57.92), which ranks third all-time for South Carolina. Johnson won the 100 breaststroke (1:03.99), and Vay notched her first collegiate win in the 100-yard freestyle (51.76), adding to her second-place finish in the 50-yard free (23.63).
Diving senior Patricia Kranz also helped the Gamecocks with wins in the one-meter and three-meter events.
“Our women were impressive,” said Moody of his South Carolina team, “they came up short in the score but they made an impression by the way they raced today.”
GAMECOCKS HEAD TO ATLANTA WHILE KENTUCKY HOST GATORS
The Gamecocks are in Atlanta, Ga on Oct. 17 (Friday), when the men face Georgia Tech and the women compete against Notre Dame. The South Carolina women don’t compete in their own pool until Oct. 31, when they host Florida Gulf Coast. The men don’t see home water until Nov. 8, when they host the College of Charleston and East Carolina University.
Things don’t get any easier for Kentucky, when they host the University of Florida GatorsOct. 16 (Thursday) at the Lancaster Aquatic Center. The Gators are coming off last weekend’s fifth consecutive win at the Pinch-A-Penny, All-Florida Invitational.
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