Tigers Fall to Gamecocks

Oct. 29, 2011

GREENVILLE, SC – The Clemson men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams dropped their respective matchups with South Carolina this weekend at the Westside Aquatic Center in Greenville. The men’s team fell to 3-1 on the season by a score of 162-137, while the Tiger women are now 2-2 after a 191-108 defeat. The Gamecocks improved to 3-1 on the women’s side and 2-2 on the men’s side.

The Tigers fell despite a series of solid swims that had coaches and players alike pleased in the team’s effort.

“They did the things the coaches knew that they could do,” Head Coach Christopher Ip said. “I think that opened up the eyes of both the women’s and men’s teams. That’s what happens when a rivalry comes around. It draws people up to another level, and now they can’t step back. We expect them to be at this level for the rest of the season. We’re going to be able to take care of our business, if we do our jobs in every event. We’re going to have fast times.”

The Tigers were led by sprinters Eric Bruck and Meg Anderson, who swept the 50 free and the 100 free. Bruck recorded an NCAA-B qualifying time of 19.99 seconds in the 50 free and won a tight battle with teammate Chris Reinke in the 100 free with a time of 45.44 seconds. Reinke turned in a time of 46.06 seconds. Anderson had times of 23.13 seconds and 50.94 seconds, respectively, in the two events.

Chris Dart also had a solid day, winning all three of his individual swims. He won the 100 back with a time of 49.61 seconds, the 200 back with a time of 1:49.47, and the 200 IM with his swim of 1:51.75. Sarah Bechard also picked up a victory for the Tigers with her 57.85-second swim in the 100 fly.

The Clemson relays were also successful at the meet. The men got victories from Dart, Reinke, Seth Broster, and Bruck in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:31.38, while Kelly Fowler, Maddie Tarantolo, Kelsey Krauss, and Anderson won the event for the women’s team with a time of 1:46.87. In the 400 free relay to close out the meet, the men’s event was won by Bruck, Reinke, Harry Foster, and Broster with a swim of 3:02.25. The women’s team of Anderson, Krauss, Kristen Redmond, and Tori Cervone won their event with a time of 3:30.72.

Elsewhere, Cervone finished in second place in the 200 free with a time of 1:53.50. Reinke also finished second in the event with his time of 1:42.66. Layne followed Dart in the 100 back with his second-place swim of 51.18 seconds. Tarantolo had a second-place swim in the 100 breast with a time of 1:06.57, and Andrew Abeysinghe finished second in the event with a time of 58.46 seconds.

Bechard recorded a second-place swim of 2:06.86 in the 200 fly, followed by Kelly McGee’s third-place time of 2:07.29. Foster finished second in the men’s 200 fly with a time of 1:52.61, and he also finished second in the 100 fly with a time of 49.79 seconds. Broster finished third in the event with his time of 50.20 seconds. Cervone posted the second-fastest time in the 200 back with her swim of 2:04.08. She did the same in the 200 IM, finishing with a time of 2:09.09.

The diving teams from both programs competed in Columbia on Friday night. Brooke George led the Clemson women with a second-place finish in the one-meter (294.30) and a fourth-place finish in the three-meter (280.20). She has now posted a zone-qualifying score in both events this season. The men were paced by Patrick Chamberlain, who finished third in the one-meter (269.48) and fourth in the three-meter (246.53).

The Tigers will return to the pool against Georgia Tech and Western Kentucky in Atlanta on Friday, November 4. The meet will begin at 6 p.m.