Gamecock swimming, diving falls to highly ranked Bulldogs Friday
The South Carolina swimming and diving squads were couldn’t find an answer to the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens on Friday afternoon.
Head coach McGee Moody mentioned that it was one of the more difficult meets all season.
“It’s hard to get on a bus and ride seven hours and then expect to swim your best,” Moody said. “We still had good swims even with the travel.”
The women’s team lost to No. 1-ranked Georgia, 177-112. Senior diver Courtney Forcucci claimed two diving wins in the meet. Forcucci won the 1-meter springboard with a 298.13 and the 3-meter springboard with a 340.95, making it the fifth straight meet where Forcucci has won both events. Sophomores Rachael Schaffer and Meghan Brockington each won an event. Schaffer won the 200 individual medley with a time of 2 minutes, 04.48 seconds, and Brockington won the 100 butterfly in 57.99 seconds. Sophomore Amanda Rutqvist tacked on a second-place finish in the 200 breaststroke with a 2:17.09 in the Gamecocks’ winning effort.
The men’s team was unable to top No. 9-ranked Georgia as well, falling 180-112. Junior diver Rylan Ridenour won the 3-meter springboard with a 357.38. Freshman diver Cole Miller placed second with a 351.15. Ridenour also finished second on the 1-meter springboard with a 349.35.
Junior Bobby Cave carried the Gamecocks on the men’s side. Cave won the 200 individual medley in 1:53.39 and placed second in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events. Sophomore Jay Warner swam a personal best in a second-place finish of the 200 backstroke, with a time of 1:49.19. Sophomore Gerard Rodriguez placed second in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:52.25. Junior Andrew Seiler finished second in the 50 freestyle in 21.17 seconds.
Despite the competition, Moody was proud of the way his team performed. “Georgia has some really good swimmers,” Moody said. “We were able to go in and get some wins out of the meet.”
The women’s team is 5-3 overall, 1-2 in the SEC, while the men’s team is 4-4 overall, but only 0-3 in conference meets. As the regular team season nears its close, South Carolina’s swimming and diving programs have had good seasons and look to improve from year to year, with Moody taking pride in the continuous improvement of the individual, not just the team.
“We didn’t expect anything going in, but we wanted to swim our best possible,” Moody said. The Gamecocks will hope to bounce back this weekend against East Carolina and Vanderbilt in a two-day meet, concluding the regular season before heading to the SEC Championship meet in Knoxville, Tenn. next month.