COLUMBIA, S.C. — Three swimmers advanced to A Finals in their events with a pair putting together record-breaking performances to pace Vanderbilt on the second day of the Gamecock Invitational Thursday at the USC Natatorium.
Mercedes Traba, Emily Constable and Aubrey Hull all were among the top 10 in preliminary heats of the event hosted by South Carolina, with Constable setting a new freshman standard and Hull lowering her new school mark at night in finals.
“There was a lot of good racing today,” head coach Jeremy Organ said. “In the 400 IM Mercedes just put together a nice race to get herself into that A Final, which was great to see. The freshmen are starting to come into their own, take command of these races and look really good in them. Overall we’re excited about our day and are looking forward to our last day tomorrow.”
Meet Highlights
-Traba became the first Dore to qualify for an A Final at the meet after accomplishing the feat in the 400 IM.
-Hull and Constable finished sixth in the A Final of the 100 back and 100 breast, respectively.
-Kailia Utley was runner-up in the B Final of the 100 fly.
-Both Reagan Mathieson and Libby Gilbert competed in the 200 free B Final, with the former placing third in the race.
-Gilbert also swam in the B Final of the 100 back along with Quinlan Hinerfeld and Megan Ciezczak.
-Bailey Ratzburg moved on to the B Final of the 400 IM, while Amelia Harper qualified for the B Final of the 100 breast as well.
-The quartet of Traba, Gilbert, Mathieson and Kate Heintz placed fourth in the final race of the night, the 800 free relay.
Notes
-Hull’s time of 54.03 in the prelims of the 100 back broke the school record set by Sophia Kosturos set at last season’s SEC Championships, and she would go on to lower that mark by .06 seconds in finals at night.
-After touching the wall in 1:01.72 in the 100 breast prelims, Constable set a school freshman record while moving up to fifth in the Commodores’ record books in the event.
-The Dores’ 200 medley relay team of Hull, Constable, Jenna Ravarino and Mathieson made the NIC B cut after finishing in 1:40.18, which tied the third-fastest mark on the school’s all-time performer list.
-Mathieson climbed up to fifth on Vandy’s all-time performer list in the 200 free after posting a 1:49.95 mark in the prelims of the event.
-Ratzburg finished prelims in 4:26.23 to move into 10th place on the school’s all-time performer list in the 400 IM.
-Hinerfeld’s 54.99 time in the 100 back is now tied for seventh on the program’s record list while also meeting the CSCAA NIC B cut in the event.
-Ciezczak also met the NIC B standard in the 100 back after touching the wall in 55.33 in the morning.
-With a 54.96 mark in prelims, Utley achieved the NIC B standard in the 100 fly.
-Traba ended up with a season-best 4:19.07 time in 400 IM final at night.
-Gilbert recorded her lowest marks of the season in multiple races after achieving the feat in both the 200 free (1:50.85) and 100 back (55.78).
-Heintz posted her fastest times this fall in both the 200 free and 100 fly with marks of 1:52.57 and 56.54, respectively, on the second day of the event.
-Grace Ciaramitaro had marks of 57.61 in the 100 back and 4:32.14 in the 400 IM, her lowest thus far in 2024-25.
-Ravarino (55.93), Karsyn Cook (56.21), Meredith DiPasquale (56.70) and Amelia Peterson (57.65) also recorded their best marks of the campaign in the 100 fly.
-Four other individuals—Emily Carpenter (56.19), Utley (57.13), Cole Liffman (57.44) and Hannah Weissman (57.53)—posted season-best marks in the 100 back.
-A pair of Dores finished with season-low times in the 200 free after Madelyn Porter (1:53.05) and Kendall Hall (1:53.78) accomplished the feats in finals.
-Harper touched the wall in a personal-best 1:04.38 in prelims of the 100 breast, with Taylor Carey’s mark of 1:05.12 in the event her fastest of 2024-25.
