Men's swim and dive sets program record for wins in season
As Bobby Cave turned and began his final lap, with history riding on his every stroke, he wasn't thinking about his Alabama competitor.
Instead, he imagined he was competing against his teammate.
"I was thinking the guy from Alabama was James [Crawford], who I race against every day," Cave said. "Our practice schedule is so tough that everyday we have to get up and race people everyday in practice. Visualizing someone that's actually one of my best friends swimming next to me, I just didn't really want to lose."
He did not lose. Cave beat out Andrew Wrist from Alabama by .22 seconds to give No. 22 South Carolina the win over the Crimson Tide.
The men began the day knowing one win would match the program record for number of wins in a season, and defeating both teams would give the Gamecocks their first undefeated season. They accomplished the former, but not the latter. No. 9 Georgia was too much for South Carolina to handle, and it clinched a victory early in the meet. However, the battle between South Carolina and Alabama came down to the 400-yard individual medley.
Cave had never swam the event in college, but USC's Chris Kelly, who normally swims the 400-yard race, was sick all week.
"Coming into that last 200 yards, starting the breast stroke, he's a breaststroker, so we knew that was going to be a solid leg. I didn't know how much ground he was going to have to make up though," coach McGee Moody said.
Moody said he was proud of the spirit his team displayed after dropping the matchup with Georgia.
"They're not going to accept being okay with mediocrity," Moody said. "Being 9-2 would've been a great year for us. Halfway through the meet they decided that wasn't good enough. They're tough."
Moody said his team will now focus on resting and staying healthy before the SEC Tournament in a couple weeks.
"We're pretty focused," Moody said. "This is where we hoped we'd be going into SECs. Alabama is an extremely talented team. I'm happy with how things turned out."