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Phillips, RYAN WILSON Sports Editor The SEC Swimming Championships ended Saturday at the Carolina Natatorium with a few surprises as two members of the USC men's team became the second and third individual SEC champions in the school's fourth year in the conference. Dan Phillips capped off his senior season with a title in the 200 freestyle, while sophomore Jay Telford showed incredible promise for the future as he won the mile freestyle championship. Phillips captured the SEC championship in the 200 freestyle event Friday evening on day three of the SEC Championships. Phillips' 1:35.94 time set personal and Carolina Natatorium pool . records. Phillips was the second Gamecock athlete to win an SEC championship.: Former USC track standout Ron Willis won the SEC championship in both the weight and discus categories. Phillips, a physical education major from Ypsilanti, Mich., said Auburn's Scott Tucker, swimming in the adjoining lane, was his biggest concern. "He had a better personal time than I did," Phillips said. "I could see him coming on strong the last 25 yards, but the crowd really helped me get through that last leg. "Personally, I'm relieved more than anything else because I was seeded No. 1 in the 200 free my sophomore year and finished third. This SEC chamnionship represents all the great aspects of our program here. Coming out of high school, I considered myself an average swimmer, but in the last four years, I've taken seven seconds off my time in this event." Phillips automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships March 2325 in Indianapolis. Phillips' time of 1:35.94 time was .10 seconds faster than Auburn's ! Tucker. Phiffips is"a two-time All-Amer; ican andWafc a member of the gold medal winning 800-meter Free Relay team at the 1993 World University games. "This couldn't have happened to a nicer guy," USC assistant coach Seth Baron said. "Dan's our team captain and really the catalyst for this program that last four years. Dan's performance epit! dmizes hoVChardthifc team has worked ; 4liyear. ' "We only went 4-7 during the dual meets, but this is the competition we've been aiming for all year. Tonight, the South Carolina swimming program start ed building a little history in the conference and definitely turned some heads aromd.tftemmtiy~ Telford joined Phillips by winning the SEC championship in the mile freestyle Saturday. Telford's 15:12.71 time beat Florida's Todd Gjervold by three seconds. The native of Corbett, Ore., was seeded third in the event. "When Dan got his yesterday, the Lady Gameco quickly fail be Second-half Lady Gator run finishes off Carolina. MATT PLOPINEC Staff Writer Hie Lady Gamecock basketball team dropped a 69-49 decision to the No. 14 T rLifrtt*! rtf in fvYvnf rvf o nw\u;ri ijauj v^raiAAO ui i IUX lua ui uuxiv wi u wwnu of 578 Saturday at Frank McGuire Arena. The Lady Gamecocks (11-13,1-9) kept it close and only trailed by four at the half. When Florida (20-7,6-4) came out in a zone to start the second half, die 3rpoint-happy Lady Gamecocks were wandering if it was Christmas in February. jifl Carolina, which is one of Msgk the top teams in the nation in | 3-pointers made per game, couldn't capitalize on the La- I dy Gators' zone defense. The / % athleticism and speed of the Lady Gators allowed them to ? 4 stop both the outside shot and f the inside game. I After the game, USC cen- wiLSOM ter Cindy Kelly explained that is wasn't so much UFs size but its deceptive strength and athleticism that turned the game into a war in the paint Their post players don't look that big and muscular, but they were getting good position," Kelly said. "We did the best we could to keep them off the boards, but it was tough in the post today." After the two teams traded leads at the beginning of the game, the Lady Gators grabbed the lead with 16:28 left in the half on a 15-footer from Takilya Davis. It was a lead they would never relinquish. The closest the Lady Gamecocks came in the second half was the opening four-point margin. Once again, an old nemesis plagued the Lady Gamecocks. After a mediocre Telford t , ,, USC sophomore Jay Telford takes i mile freestyle event. Telford becan individual SEC Championship title. 'To have two individual champioi people counted us out followir far our best performance in fo USC men's swim team first thing he said was today would be my turn," Telford said. 1 had a positive mindset coming in. The last 50 yards, I couldn't realty hear the crowd, but I could see everybody jumping up an down." "Jay realty wanted to win the 500 free on Thursday but finished third," USC men's coach Keith Switzer said. Tonight, he got a measure of revenge, coming back to edge the two Florida guys who had beaten him in out dual meet To have two individual champions, and considering that many people counted us out following the dual season, this is by far our best performance in four years in the conference." On the women's side, sophomore Jessica Nixon led the Lady Gamecocks, finishing sixth in the 100 backstroke with a :56.75 time. Valery Calkins' 1:50.02 time was good for fourth place in the 200 freestyle and an NCAA consideration. Michelle McCarthy, with a time of 1:59.45, finished second in the 200 breasti i il . T . J__ ry i-_ T ? siroxe ior me L>aay uumecocits. junior co-captain Kerry Fraas captured fourth in the 100 yard freestyle, and Charlene Miller was able to win the bonus final of the 200 butterfly. "Jessica Nixon has had an outstanding meet," USC women's coach Kelly Parker Medlin said. "We've had someone in almost every final, and five individuals have set NCAA qualifying standards." The Auburn men and Florida women captured the team titles at the SEC Swimming Championships. The victory for the i "rt 1 cks puii ciose, ihind UF, 69-49 shooting performance in the first half, the shooting percentages dropped in the second period The Lady Gamecocks shot 19 percent from the field and were 1-14 from behind the 3-point arc in the second half. Despite the final tally, USC was in contention until the 8:08 mark in the second half, when the Lady Gators went on a 13-1 run to put the contest out of ronr>h USC coach Nancy Wilson was pleased with the team's effort and compliment ed junior guard Natalie Funtderburk for playing despite being troubled by a stomach virus last week. Wilson added that freshman Audrey Ramsey may have had her best game in a Gamecock uniform. "We got the kind of effort we needed," Wilson said. "I would have expected us to shoot bet ter against the zone. I Junior All-American candidate Shannon Johnson had a gamehigh 28 points for Carolina. On a more somber note, halftime ceremonies included a touching tribute by former Lady Gamecock Colleen (Frost) Donnelly to her 1983-84 teammate Dissy Thompson. Thompson, a DEA agent, recently lost her life in a plane crash in Peru. Donnelly noted Thompson's courage and fearlessness as two or ner most enduring qualities. The Lady Gamecocks will play their last home Wednesday against Coastal Carolina before closing out the regular season Sunday at Vanderbilt. Tip-off for Wednesday's game is 7 p.m. ake titles ? : i - CHUCK GRIFFTH The Gamecock i deep breath after finishing the le the third Gamecock to win an is, and considering that many ig the dual season, this is by ur years in the conference/ coach Ken Switzer Lady Gators was their 10th straight, with Alabama in 1985 the only team to defeat 9 Florida in the championships. Florida's Allison Wagner, a winner of three indi- I vidual events, and Tennessee's Ricky Busquets won the Commissioner's Trophy for the highest individual point totals dur- . ing the four-day event. m Florida's Wagner, a true freshman, g clinched the individual title with a pool record 2:14.02 time in the 200 breaststroke. Wagner also won the 400 indi- ? vidual medley and the 200 individual | medley. Busquets dueled with Florida's Steve Clarke for the men's trophy, edging him 57 points to 56 by winning the | 100 freestyle. Busquets won the 100 free in 43.42, I with Clarke finishing third in 43.58 to provide the one-point Commissioner's Trophy victory. Busquets also claimed a victory in the 50 freestyle Thursday. Wagner's teammate Barbara Franco captured the 200 butterfly with a 1:59.35 time. It was good all-around for the Lady Gators as senior Beth Hazel won the 100 backstroke in 1:59.05. Auburn used a deep corps of sprinters to establish an SEC record time of 2:54.26 in the 400 freestyle relay. The quartet of Oliver Gumbrill, Mick Shackell, Scott Tucker and Scott Jett defeated second-place LSU by more than two seconds. Michael Andrews and Chris Walton finished one-two in the 200 backstroke, which distanced the champion Tigers rom s second-place Tennessee in the standings. c ^BPI J^^B ^B Si ,SSM mm0SMtM?' ? -.^ kIhl. Junior Cindy Kelly jumps for the Gamecock's 69-49 loss to the Lady G F MP,. FQ FT. Page -' 25 1-2 0-0 ? Davis 31 3-15 4-4 ' Milton 33 8-15? 2h4 Hudson 18 0-0 0-0 Jona$ 34 ,v4*12 2-2* MP FG FT .Tinrunons:; Randall 38 3-10 0-0 KeHy SiiJi MK&4KS&& Johnson 39 7-13 11-16 Florida USC j at SEC g ~ I % * t # i ' w . i wm ?pg ISii anlor Dan Phillips holds up his : arollna Natatorlum. Phillips won I t M F B HT^jH JHRf^w ? ,mi JAMIE CLARK The Gamecock opening tip-off In the Lady ators of Florida. lorida RbsA F S Pts 2 12 1 '2 8332 12 13 3 3 4 19 , 2 0 0 0 0 use Rbs A F S Pts $MPP 7 1 3 1 9 ?m 6 mi 4 2 2 3 28 n 2 Mmmmni 35 34 69 31 18 49 ' Champi ^ 1 mm B9^ mm B WV \| ?fe>. * ^ SEC Championship plaque at the SE< lis championship title In the 200-yard MEN FEB \l Tennessee 1:19.87 *? 200 MEDt ? Tennessee 1:27.47 *? , ^ 500 FREE Kiedal (UF) 4:19.88* 200INDfVIPyj Clarke (UF) 1:47.62 * 50 FREE! Busquets (UT): 19.96 * 400togftfcl Tennessee 3:11.36 *? F FEB Mull (AU) 3:48.61 * 100 BUT1 Clarke (UF) :47.13* 200 FREE Phillips (USC) 1:35.94* 100 breas Linn (UT) :53.32 *? ioqback Andrews (AU) :47.64 Florida 6:28.83 * liiiiiili 400 FREESTV Auburn 2:54.26 *? 200 BACK Andrews (AU) 1:43.98 * : 100 FREr Busquets (UT) :43.42 * Linn (UT) 1:56.82 *? .WOT Hartley (AU) 1:46.13 * ' * H * O^ " '? "- >" I i WmfBk. 3'v KIM TRUETT The Gamecock 5 Swimming Championships at the freestyle event. =^g-i WOMEN 'LE RELAY -fr-vGeorgia 1:32.00 Y RELAY Georgia 1:42.14 * :$me Drvden (UR 4:43.24 MIMEDLEV Wagner (UF) 1:57.91 * STYLE deMan (UT) :22.86 YftSUV ''' '' : Georgia 3:43.03 * 17JIM M MEDLEY r : Wagner (UF) 4:13.28 * "EftFLY Potter ('Bama) :53.30 ? STYLE : Heath (UK) 1:48.30 rSTBQKE - - Reynolds (AU1 1:02.30 Wenglarski (AU) :55.01* /L? BELAY P'" = <: Florida 7:19.72 m .-an Tennesse 3:23.59 Hazel (UF) 1:59.05 deMan (UT) :49.73 I S I HUM; iii Wagner (UF) 2:14.02* reftPIV VFranco (UF) 1:59.35 onships . 1 j 198 Ink