Amy Riordan Sets Pool Record as South Carolina, North Carolina Tie

Photo Courtesy: Amy Riordan

Amy Riordan Sets Pool Record as South Carolina, North Carolina Tie

Amy Riordan set a school and pool record for South Carolina on Friday as the Gamecocks’ women’s team tied their border battle with North Carolina, 150-150.

The UNC men’s team won in Columbia, 161-139. The Gamecocks ended a run of 12 UNC straight wins in the women’s rivalry dating back to 1985.

Riordan broke the pool record in winning the 200 freestyle. She clocked in a 1:44.31, undercutting the school mark set in 2019 by Emma Barksdale. She clipped nearly two seconds off her pool record of 1:46.18 from last year.

That swim early in the meet set the stage for the teams to throw haymakers at each other coming down the stretch. The Gamecocks scored major points with a 1-2-3 in the 200 butterfly, Nicholle Toh winning in 1:55.59 by .16 seconds over teammate Jordan Agliano. The time erased Dakota Luther’s pool record from 2021 (1:57.19).

UNC answered by sweeping the top three places in the men’s 200 breaststroke, Katja Pavicevic winning n 2:12.26. Pavicevic had been second to teammate Skyler Smith (59.32) in the 100 breast.

South Carolina swung the meet back in its favor when Riordan went 4:46.43 to win the 500 free. Meghan Harnish was second with Hayley Mason third. Toh won the 100 fly in 52.32 ahead of teammate Greta Pelzek. Harnish won the 400 individual medley in a 1-2 with Laura Goettler, the winning time of 4:13.43.

That allowed North Carolina’s 1-3 finish in the 400 free relay to be good enough only for the tie.

Harnish won the 1,000 free, ahead of Mason. Bella Pantano won the 200 back in 1:54.93 and was second in the 100 back. Dylan Scholes bounced back from narrowly finishing third in the 50 free to win the 100 free in 49.38.

North Carolina’s sprint depth stepped up, and it resulted in a pair of Carolina Natatorium relay records. Grace Pattison, Pavicevic, Michaela Chokureva and Olivia Nel went 1:37.12 to win the medley relay. It was Pattison, Delaney Carlton, Nel and Elizabeth Sowards winning the 400 free relay in 3:15.83. Both swims downed records set last year by Missouri.

Nel and Pattison went 1-2 in the 50 free, in 22.59 and 22.63. Nel was second in both the 100 free and 200 free. Pattison won the 100 back in 51.97. The undercut a pool mark set in 2022 by Missouri’s Sarah Thompson. Aranza Vazquez won both diving events, scoring 336.83 on 1-meter and 369.00 on 3-meter, with teammate Ellie Joyce second in both.

On the men’s side, UNC’s biggest point haul of the day was also the best swim of the day. Sebastian Lunak led a 1-2-3 finish in the 200 fly. His time of 1:43.24 dashed the pool record set in 2021 by Georgia’s Luca Urlando by nearly 2.5 seconds at 1:45.73.

Lunak finished second in the 100 fly to teammate Boyd Poelke’s time of 46.92. Second in the 200 fly was Louis Dramm, who showed his range by also finishing second in the 100 free before winning the 400 IM in 3:45.45. Second in that race was Ben Delmar, who swept breaststroke. He went 54.30 in the 100 and 1:55.66 in the 200.

Patrick Hussey swept the 200 free and 500 free for the Tar Heels. Alexander Hart and Rodolph Vazquez took the top two spots in 3-meter diving, led by Hart’s score of 417.83 points.

South Carolina’s sprinters led the way. Mark Shperkin won the 50 free in 20.16 and the 100 free in 44.11. He anchored wins in the 200 medley and 400 free relays.

On both of those foursomes was Michael Laitarovsky. He won the 100 back in 46.76 and was third in the 100 fly. Connor Fry won the 1,000 free in 9:06.57 and finished second in the 500 free. Wylie Kruse won the 200 back. Charley Bayer (339.60) and Maxwell Spencer (334.50) went 1-2 on 1-meter diving.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use