Schultz Leads South Carolina Women To Victory, Army Men Upset Gamecocks

South Carolina vs Army West Point

• Friday, September 23, 2022
• Columbia, South Carolina
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results on Meet Mobile: “2022 Army @ South Carolina”
• Final Scores
  • Women: South Carolina 204, Army 88
  • Men: Army 158, South Carolina 140

Courtesy: South Carolina Athletics

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina swimming & diving split their first day of competition with the women’s team earning a dominant win over Army and the men dropping a close contest. Graduate diver Brooke Schultz individually contributed 18 points to the women’s team win, sweeping the springboards and setting a new school record in the process.

The women got off to a hot start, taking places 1-4 in the very first relay event, and didn’t let up. The Gamecock women picked up wins in 14 of their 16 events and ended the meet with a final score of 204 to Army’s 88.

The Gamecock men earned seven of their 16 event wins and fell to the Black Knights by a narrow 158-140 margin.

Schultz got her day started with a score of 413.78 in the 3-meter dive to break her own school record set at last season’s SEC Championships. The graduate had a previous school record of 407.30 to which she added 6.48 points for the new record. Schultz then went on the win the 1-meter dive with a score of 352.88, nearly 25 points ahead of the second-place finisher.

Gamecock Notables

• Junior Melinda Novoszath picked up the first individual event win of the season for the Gamecocks with a 10:20.99 in the 1000 free.
• Freshman Amy Riordan made a strong showing in her collegiate debut. The Martinez, Ga., native won the 200 freestyle by over three seconds and placed third in the 100 freestyle.
• Junior Bella Pantano picked up right where she left off last season, earning event wins in both the 100 and 200 backstroke events.
• Junior Georgia Johnson swept the breaststroke events for the women, swimming a 1:03.22 in the 100 and a 2:17.70 in the 200.
• Graduate transfer Victoria Kwan made herself known in her Garnet & Black premiere. The Ontario, Canada, native won both events that she participated in – the 200 butterfly (2:01.84) and the 200 IM (2:02.53).
• Graduate Rafael Davila picked up the men’s first individual event win of the season with a 9:19.26 in the 1000 free.
• Sophomore Michael Laitarovsky continued his backstroke dominance this season, winning the 100 back with a time of 48.80.
• Senior Luke DeVore made a huge comeback in the 200 fly to win it at the touch with a time of 1:50.69.
• Gamecock divers Manny Vazquez Bas and Charley Bayer went 1-2 in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives to collect 26 points for the men’s team.
• Freshman Jose Castro earned his first ever event win as a Gamecock, taking the 500 free with a time of 4:31.46.
• The Gamecock men swept the 100 fly with graduate transfer Erge Gezmis taking the win with a 49.76. Freshman Gage Hulbert placed just behind Gezmis with a 49.90 while Laitarovsky and senior Guy Gropper tied for third with a 50.10.

Head Coach Jeff Poppell on the Team’s Performance

“I’m so proud of our team and their efforts today! They raced hard and competed well against a tough Army team. Our divers were outstanding highlighted by Brooke Schultz breaking her own school record in the 3-meter event.

With twenty-seven newcomers this year, including half of our men’s team, we are definitely young, however I absolutely love the individuals on this team right now and the positive attitudes and vibes they bring to the pool each and every day. We understand that we have a lot of growth and development ahead of us as a team, however it’s really exciting when thinking about our potential in the years ahead. I’d like to give a special shout out to our parents and alumni that showed up today in support of our first home meet. The atmosphere was absolutely awesome.”

Up next for the Gamecocks

South Carolina will return to action on Saturday, October 8 when they host LSU for their conference opener. Diving will begin at 10 a.m. with swimming following at 11 a.m.

For all the latest South Carolina swimming and diving information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockSwim).

Courtesy: Army Athletics

Columbia, S.C.– In Army’s season opener results are split between the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams.  The men defeated powerhouse South Carolina 158-140, while the Gamecocks defeated the women 204-88.

How it Happened:

Men’s: The Black Knights defeated the SEC force University of South Carolina.  Black Knights had the top two finishers in the men’s 200-yard Freestyle with Tanner Falls finishing with a time of 1:39.64 and Wes Tate finishing with 1:39.81 respectively.

In many events the Black Knights dominated early and took the top two spots as well as finishing third.  Evan Yoo finished second in the Men’s 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 55.72, while Freshman Kohen Rankin finished first with a time of 55.62.  Each received nine and four points towards Army’s score respectively.

The men’s 200 medley relay team turned into a real nail biter. The Black Knights’ Billy Kim, Kohen Rankin, Jacob Powell, and Owen Harlow all finished first with a time of 1:29.99 against South Carolina’s Michael Laitarovsky, Daniel West, Erge Gezmis, and Mark Shperkin.  With this victory against the Gamecocks Army received 11 points.

Freshman Kohen Rankin had a first-place finish and a second-place finish, (1^st in the 100 yd breast, and second in the 200 breast.) Sophomore Evan Yoo also had  3 top finishes; he finished first in 200 yd. Breast, second in the 100 Breast, and third in the 200 IM.  Junior Sam Wesley saw success against South Carolina.  He finished first in the 200 Back and again in the 200 IM.

With this victory against South Carolina, the Black Knights are looking to continue their success in Wilmington, NC and will go up against UNCW.

Women’s Team: The Black Knights fell to a strong USC team, finishing 88 to 204.  While the Gamecocks took control early, the Black Knights were still in contention in several events.  The Black Knights finished top four in the 1000 yd. Free and the 200 yd. Free.  Freshman, Molly Webber had a first-place finish in the 500 yd. Free. Sophomore Diver, Minh Donnell finished in the top 5 in the diving events; she finished third in the 1 Meter Dive and fourth in the 3 Meter Dive.  Freshman Molly Webber also had success and kept close behind South Carolina’s Victoria Kwan finishing second with a time of 2:01.99. Freshman Catriona Gilmore also stayed close behind South Carolina finishing second with a time of 1:04.14.

Although falling to the Gamecocks, Army had top two finishers. Layne Peterson finished second in the 200 Meter Back, with a time of 2:05.91, Catriona Gilmore finished second in the 200 Breast, and Meghan Cole finished second in the 100 Butterfly.

Sophomore Diver, Minh Donnell finished in the top 5 in the diving events; she finished third in the 1 Meter Dive and fourth in the 3 Meter Dive.  Freshman Molly Webber also had success and kept close behind South Carolina’s Victoria Kwan finishing second with a time of 2:01.99. Freshman Catriona Gilmore also stayed close behind South Carolina finishing second with a time of 1:04.14.

Coaches Corner:  Brandt Nigro on today’s meet: “I was really proud of how the team competed and carried themselves today.  We have a tendency to come out flat early in the season, especially after long travel and we made it a priority to be sure to strike first this season… On the men’s side, I’m so proud of how far they’ve come over the last year. Owen Harlow stepped up big walking away with 4 wins and individual times/splits that are so far ahead of where he was last year. Evan Yoo picked up where he left off last year and took care of business in all 3 of his events. I’m so impressed with the way Sam Wesley raced today with passion, but more importantly, confidence and belief in himself. I could go on, but bottom line this was a team win and big moment for our program… On the women’s side, we saw the results of many months of hard work, elevated commitment, and a great plebe class.  Molly Webber was great today in all of her events and picked up a big win against so high-level competition. Catriona Gilmore was great in all her races and really adds depth and fire to our breaststroke and IM events.  Minh Donnell was great on the boards, picking up a 3rd place on 1 M against a team that regularly sends divers to the NCAA Championship.  The energy and bond that this team is bringing to each practice and now our first meet is impressive and I’m excited to see where we can go once we get everyone healthy and back together!”

Up Next: The Black Knights are back at it again when they compete against the University of North Carolina Wilmington at David B. Allen Natatorium on Saturday, September 24, at 11AM.