Courtesy: South Carolina Athletics
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina swimming and diving kicks off its 2020-21 season on Friday at Carolina Natatorium. The Gamecocks will face off with Georgia in a men’s and women’s dual meet.
“We have been waiting for this day since March,” said head coach McGee Moody. “Both teams have posted all negative tests and we are excited to race one of the top teams in the nation tomorrow. I am excited to see where we are as a team as we move forward into the rest of our season.”
The women get started at 10 a.m. ET, with the men following at 2 p.m. ET. Live scoring and results for the competition will be provided through MeetMobile.
Carolina welcomes 23 newcomers (17 women and seven men) to this year’s squad.
Sophomore Taylor Steele, a breaststroker, is one of the top returners on the women’s side. She was a member of the SEC All-Freshman Team last season after finishing fourth in the 100 breaststroke at the SEC Championships.
The 2020 NCAA Championships were cancelled but the Gamecocks return several swimmers who qualified for the meet alongside Steele in sophomore Janie Smith, junior Emma Walker and senior Danielle Doennebrink.
Junior Lewis Burras headlines a talented crop of swimmers on the men’s side. Burras, a native of Preston, England, was a two-time All-American in the 50 free and 100 free last season. He was Second Team All-SEC and set program records in both the 50 free (19.17) and 100 free (42.28) at the 2020 SEC Championship.
Redshirt junior Rafael Davila is back this season after taking an Olympic year. Davila was Second Team All-SEC in 2019 after finishing third in the 1650 freestyle at the conference meet. He holds three top-five times in program history in the 1650 free, 1000 free and the 500 free.
The Gamecocks will be following strict guidelines with adherence to the SEC Medical Guidance Task Force Requirements for COVID-19 Management. There will be a pass list for family ONLY for the meet due to COVID-19. Face coverings will be required for everyone at the pool as well as regular testing for everyone on the pool deck.
Go Dawgs!