Clemson Swimming and Diving to Open Season at Florida State on Friday

Sept. 22, 2004

Clemson, SC – The Clemson Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving teams will begin the 2004-2005 campaign as the Tigers travel to face Atlantic Coast Conference foe Florida State in its first dual meet on Saturday.

The Clemson men’s team is coming off a 13-2-1 record and fourth place ACC finish last year. The 13 dual meet victories are the most wins ever recorded by a Clemson men’s swimming and diving team, dating back to the program’s inception in 1953.

Clemson will be led this season by team captains Eric Shulick, Buddy Reed, and Tommy Rappold. Shulick is the defending ACC Champion in the one-meter diving competition, scoring 314.60 points to win the event. Shulick was named to the All-ACC team for his performance, this marks the second time that Shulick has earned All-ACC honors. Reed recorded three top-eight finishes at the ACC Championships last season, including sixth place in the 200 back (1:47.86) and the 400 IM (3:57.43) and placed seventh in the 200 IM (1:51.52). Rappold placed in the top-eight in two events, finishing fourth in the 100 back (49.38) and sixth in the 100 fly (48.59).

The Clemson women’s team finished 2003-2004 with a 10-5 record and a fifth place finish in the ACC Championships. The ten wins are the most recorded since the 1988 season when Clemson finished the year with 12 dual meet victories.

The Lady Tigers will be led by their team captains Kim Routh, Nichole Carlton, and Aurelie Gresset. Routh represented Clemson last season in the 2004 NCAA Championships, placing 15th in the 1500m with a time of 16:15.19. She earned Honorable Mention All-America honors for her performance and scored two points for the Tigers. Routh also competed in the preliminary rounds of the 200m free and the 400m free. Carlton recorded a 14th-place finish in the 1650 free at the ACC Championships (16:57.75) and had season-best times in the 200 free (1:53.85) and 500 free (4:56.57). Gresset posted season-best times in the 200 free (1:54.49) and the 500 free (5:02.29) in the preliminary round of the Nike Cup and recorded a season-best time in the 200 breast (2:21.63) at the meet to finish 20th. At the ACC Championships, Gresset recorded a 13th-place finish in the 200 breast (2:22.56) and a 24th place finish in the 500 free (5:04.33).

The Florida State men’s swimming and diving team finished the season with a 9-3 record and a second place finish at the ACC Championships, while the women’s team compiled a record of 15-2 and a third place showing at the ACC Championships. The Seminoles are led by ACC Champion Joel Roycik and All-American Lisa How.

Clemson is under the leadership of head coach Chris Ip in his third season. In his two previous seasons at Clemson, Ip has led the Tiger men and women to records of 20-6-1 and 17-11 respectively. Ip has coached seven athletes to appearances in the NCAA Championship and four ACC event champions.

Last season, the Clemson men defeated Florida State by a score 137-106 at McHugh Natatorium. The Clemson and Florida State women have never met in a dual meet. The meet will begin in Tallahassee at 10 a.m. and will be held at the Leach Center pool.