Cheripka, Peteh help push women’s swimming team past Crimson Tide
One victory was all coach McGee Moody needed to bring him to 100 career wins as a head coach.
On Saturday, the women’s swimming and diving team captured the only Gamecock win of the meet in a thrilling finish against the Crimson Tide. Entering the final two women’s events, USC trailed Alabama by two points and managed to outscore the Tide 26-10 down the stretch to close out the victory.
“It means a lot to me to have a good staff and a good group of swimmers that are under us,” Moody said. “It’s a great honor, but we’ll keep working on the next 100 now.”
Now in his sixth season in Columbia, Moody spent three years at William & Mary prior to coming to South Carolina.
“I think the women swam well,” Moody said. “They raced hard. They battled hard.”
Two Gamecock women set personal records in the meet, helping Moody capture his milestone victory. Freshman Alicia Cheripka posted 2:00.98 in the women’s 200 backstroke, coming in first in the event and giving her the eighth best time in school history. Senior Matea Peteh, who has suffered some adversity this year, won the women’s 100 freestyle with a 49.77 time, which ranks fourth all-time at USC.
“Matea’s been through a lot this year,” Moody said. “She had shoulder surgery at the end of last season ... so to be where she is right now, that’s a good thing for her.”
Moody will be looking for a big performance out of Peteh in the SEC Championship meets on Feb. 19. Saturday marked the end of Cheripka’s season, as she will not travel to Texas A&M with the team for the meets.
In a tri-team meet against Alabama and Georgia, however, USC lost men’s matches to both schools. Some controversy was attached to both losses on the men’s side last weekend, as the Gamecock coaching staff was “given some incorrect information throughout the meet,” according to Moody.
“There was a lot that went on behind the scenes with the men’s meet,” Moody said. “I think our guys got kind of a raw deal.”
Despite the miscommunication, the men were able to overcome a 41-point deficit to take the match down to the last relay, which they ultimately lost.
South Carolina had one individual winner on the men’s side in sophomore diver Cole Miller, who swept the men’s competition with victories in both the men’s 1-meter and 3-meter boards.
“The guys did everything we could ask them to do,” Moody said. “But what we take away from it is: You can’t rely on [the other team] to mess up; we’ve got to make our own chances ... And I think we did that on the men’s and women’s side.”
USC will return to the pool in two weeks in College Station, Texas, for the SEC Championships. The Gamecocks will swim in five meets in as many days starting on Feb. 19 and concluding on Feb. 23.
Despite the 1-3 outcome of its most recent meet, Moody is confident in his team going into SECs, citing the squad’s strong leadership and experienced athletes.
“All the work has been done, and for the next two-and-a-half weeks we just start to back off a little bit more and a little bit more every day,” Moody said. “They’re looking pretty good, they’re swimming pretty fast, so I like where we’re headed.”