The South Carolina men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams wrapped up their regular season over the weekend with a set of wins against East Carolina and William and Mary.
The women’s team took a 170-129 victory over the Pirates and a 175-110 win over the Tribe, ending their regular season with six straight wins. Freshman Emma Barksdale led the Gamecocks with three first place individual events. She won the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:12.36, the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:17.39 and the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:04.15.
Barksdale wasn’t the only woman with a strong performance. Sophomore Taylor Worrell, senior Ashleigh Ferguson and freshmen Paige Maynard and Maggie Harman all won events in the 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard backstroke, 200-yard butterfly and 500-yard freestyle, respectively.
On the men’s side, sophomore Akaram Mahmoud dominated the distance events. In the 1,000- and 500-yard freestyle, Mahmoud clenched first place finishes with times of 9:05.22 and 4:26.17. Fellow sophomore Nils Wich-Glasen also won two individual events. His times of 55.77 and 2:00.17 in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke were fast enough to place first. He was also on the winning 200-yard medley relay team along with junior Jonathan Boland, senior Kevin Leithold and sophomore Patrick McCrillis.
The men’s team beat East Carolina 193-105 and William and Mary 179-107. They ended their regular season with a 6-3 record, the same as the women's team.
Head swimming coach McGee Moody was pleased by his team’s performance.
“We had a good day today,” Moody said. “We had an opportunity to race two very good programs. All three teams competed really well, and our team came out on top, so I am proud of that."
"Akaram Mahmoud is really starting to hit his stride, and Emma Barksdale had another great day. We're ready to go heading into SEC Championships and NCAA Championships," Moody said.
South Carolina’s divers also turned in exceptional performances. Both junior Jordan Gotro and senior Lauren Lamendola swept the men's and women's diving events, respectively, with 1- and 3-meter wins.
“The team had a lot to overcome, as the facilities required a great adjustment,” head diving coach Todd Sherritt said. “Jordan Gotro was able to overcome it and broke the ECU pool record. Lauren Lamendola was also outstanding, winning both boards and shattering the ECU pool record in the 3-meter.”
Swimming and Diving will be back in action for the SEC Championships in Columbia, Missouri, Feb. 16-20.