Moody says squad exceeded expectations
The South Carolina swimming and diving teams will compete in the SEC Championship in Knoxville, Tenn., starting Wednesday. The championship will run through Saturday, and the Gamecocks will go head-to-head against some of the best squads in the nation — swimming and diving in the SEC.
South Carolina head coach McGee Moody was proud of both his teams’ regular seasons and hopes that will carry them into the SEC Championships.
The women’s squad finished the regular season with a 7-3 record, 2-2 in the SEC. During the last home meet, on Jan. 27 and 28, the Gamecocks swept Vanderbilt and East Carolina. The women have improved, even over last year’s winning season. The event will mark the last SEC Championship for senior diver Courtney Forcucci, who has qualified for NCAAs in the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events.
Sophomores Rachael Schaffer and Amanda Rutqvist look to place well at the SECs this week also. Rutqvist looks to defend her title in the 200 breaststroke that she won last year. Both have qualified for NCAAs — Rutqvist in two events and Shaffer in three.
“To watch Amanda [Rutqvist] not only win an SEC title, but break a 10-year-old SEC record by almost 2 seconds in a 200 is unheard of,” Moody said.
The men’s team had back-to-back winning seasons as well, and after beating East Carolina during the last home meet, 186-152, their record stands at 5-4, 0-3 in the SEC. Junior diver Rylan Ridenour looks to build off his recent outing, where he broke the school record on the 3-meter springboard at the last home meet.
“I would really like to do well at SECs,” Ridenour said after the last home meet. “There is a lot of pressure at the SEC Championship, but I thrive under the pressure. If there is any time to do well, it’s at SEC.”
Junior All-American Michael Flach is training for the chance to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Flach finished 15th in the 500 freestyle in last year’s NCAA Championships and is also the school record-holder in the same event with a time of 4 minutes, 16.03 seconds.
“We went into this year with a little bit of uncertainty on the men’s side with the decision to redshirt Michael,” Moody said in a press conference last Thursday. “I think our guys really stepped up, raced hard, filled in the gaps where we needed to and are looking to go into SECs and they’re really confident right now.”
Moody later commented about how both teams exceeded his expectations. Both squads grew as a group and Moody anticipates great swims at the SECs.
“Mentally and physically, I think our team is ready,” Moody said. “I think they’re prepared to handle just about anything that comes their way.”