Carolina Swim Teams Battling at Gamecock Invitational
The two flagship schools of the Carolinas are meeting this week in Columbia, S.C., at the midseason Gamecock Invitational. Just like in a recent dual meet between the Gamecocks and Tar Heels, South Carolina is ahead in the women’s meet, 578 to 486, while North Carolina leads the men’s competition 521 to 438. Division II powerhouse Tampa sits third in both sets of standings, with 318 points for the women and 435 for the men to sit just behind SC.
In Tuesday’s racing, South Carolina’s Nora Fluck took first in the 1650 freestyle in 16:23.74, beating out North Carolina’s Lily Reader (16:26.80) and SC’s Emma Reiser (16:30.32). Fluck anchored the South Carolina “B” team that took first in the 800 free relay, combining with Jordan Agliano, Ellery Ottem and Breckin Gormley to post a time of 7:08.88, with UNC (7:09.40) and the SC “A” team (7:10.95) rounding out the top-three.
Wednesday’s session opened with the North Carolina team of Sophia Frei, Samantha Armand, Kamyryn Meskill and Eden Goettsch taking first in the 200 medley relay in 1:37.98. Goettsch held off charging South Carolina anchor Dylan Scholes by just two hundredths at the finish, as the Gamecocks took second (1:38.00) and third (1:38.73).
South Carolina went 1-2 in the women’s 100 butterfly, with Agliano winning in 52.74 and Grimley placing second in 52.93. Meskill rounded out the top-three (53.11). UNC then took the top-two spots in the 400 IM, with Mary Macaulay first (4:09.85) and Aislin Farris second (4:10.62), with SC’s Meghan Harnish just behind (4:10.67).
The Gamecocks’ Amy Riordan put up a sensational swim in the 200 free, clocking 1:43.75 to win by two seconds over UNC’s Maren Conze (1:45.75) and Ottem (1:47.84). The 100 breaststroke went to SC’s Elizabeth Goodwin-Birnie in 1:01.14, just ahead of UNC’s Armand (1:01.18), with Tampa’s Caroline Foltz placing third (1:02.04).
The Gamecocks’ Connor Fry won the 1650 free in a strong time of 14:53.97, and he was followed by teammate Pierre Largeron (15:02.02) and UNC’s Josh Parent (15:07.54). North Carolina got the win in the men’s 800 free relay, with Louis Dramm, Seb Lunak, David Quaresma and Julian Swiderski finishing in 6:17.82. That group was followed by South Carolina (6:21.40) and the UNC “B” team (6:26.02).
South Carolina opened Wednesday’s session with a tight 200 medley relay win, edging out UNC’s top team by 0.17. Ryan Hufford, Einar Margeir Agustsson, Eldor Usmonov and Pierre Largeron swam for the Gamecocks on the way to a time of 1:24.90, with UNC second in 1:25.07 thanks to a sizzling 18.77 anchor split from Dramm. The Tar Heel “B” squad placed third (1:25.13).
Ben Delmar, one of the breakout American performers at the World University Games this summer, put up a strong performance in the men’s 100 breaststroke on night two. Delmar finished in 51.74 to beat out Agustsson’s 51.91. Another Tar Heel, Xavier Ruiz, claimed third in 52.23.
Usmonov edged Lunak for first in the 100 fly by a tenth, 46.53 to 46.63. Colin Whelehan of the Tar Heels was just behind in 46.74. In the 400 IM, Dramm put up a time of 3:40.54 to take the win over Parent (3:44.96) and Carter Freudenstein (3:47.75) as UNC swept the event. Largeron beat Quaresma by two hundredths in the 200 free, 1:33.92 to 1:33.94, while SC’s Ryan Hufford took third (1:34.86)
Tuesday Results
Wednesday Results