Feb. 17, 2011
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Senior Kayla Sergesketter etched her name in the top five of UK’s all-time record book in the women’s 50 freestyle Thursday evening at the Southeastern Conference Swimming Championships at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla.
Sergesketter qualified in seventh for the women’s 50 free championship finals with a career-best time of 22.70 in the preliminaries. Sergesketter’s finish, at the time, was the fourth best in program history. Sergesketter one-upped herself in the finals though by tapping in with a time of 22.63, just 0.04 seconds behind Megan Pulskamp’s time of 22.59 set in 2009.
After the meet, Chatham Penrod, Lindsey Graessle, Mandy Myers and Sergesketter swam the 200-medley relay in hopes of earning an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Championships, and their swim was successful. The quartet raced to a time of 1:37.68, an NCAA A-cut. The race wasn’t a part of the championships and was not against any other teams so the Cats will not earn any points for it toward their team score, but the significance is huge as Penrod, Graessle and Sergesketter, seniors, and Myers, a junior, have now punched their tickets to the 2011 NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas.
“What’s really important there is, that gets them to the NCAAs so that takes all this pressure off of them trying to get in individually,” UK head coach Gary Conelly said. “Kayla for example is very close in being invited with her 50 free time but now she doesn’t have to worry about it anymore, and that takes all the pressure off the rest of the girls too. So, for sure, those four girls are going to NCAAs. That means any B-cuts we have, any relays, we’re good.”
After day two of four at the SEC Swimming Championships, the Kentucky women’s swimming and diving team sits in seventh place with 121 points. The men’s team is in sixth place with 125 points. Florida leads the women’s side overall and Auburn is in front for the men.
“The funny thing about the meet is, if you look at our placings we don’t look that good, but we swam great,” Conelly said. “I haven’t run the math yet but I would be 80 percent of them had lifetime-best swims and most of them were significant drops, it wasn’t like a hundredth of a second or something. For a lot of them, the drops came in non-techno suits also so I’m really happy with the way they swam. And it’s an off-day for us, we only had two men in the 500 free, we had no girls in the 500 free, and not many in the IMs so the trick for us is just to stay focused. Tomorrow’s a much better day for us, the 100s, the strokes and the 200 free is a good event. That’s just really critical for us is to stay focused and swim fast.”
Senior Chip Aplin led the men’s side Thursday with a 12th-place finish in the men’s 50 freestyle by swimming a time of 19.94. Aplin qualified for the men’s 50 free consolation finals by swimming a career-best time of 19.90 in the preliminaries.
The men’s 200-freestyle relay led by Aplin, David Sanders, Matt Russell and Colin Faris finished in fifth-place with a time of 1:19.03, a season-best. The women’s 200-freestyle relay also earned a season-best time of 1:31.14. The women’s 200-free relay quartet was led by Sergesketter, Megan Eppler, Kristen Wilson and Jenna Newsome.
The women’s 50 freestyle prelims were led by Sergesketter with a time of 22.70, the fourth fastest 50-free time in program history. Eppler finished with a time of 23.15 to finish in 18th-place and just miss out on the finals. Eppler’s time was a career best for her. Wilson also earned a career-best time in the 50 free by tapping in with a time of 23.38. Newsome followed Wilson with a season-best time of 23.41 and Myers earned a time of 23.49. Penrod earned a career-best time in the 50 free with a 23.80. Following Penrod were juniors Chelsea Peterson and Anna Mattox who both earned season-best times of 23.89 and 24.21, respectively. Freshman Diana Norkus and Graessle each earned career-best times of 24.54 and 24.77, respectively.
The men’s 50 freestyle, like the women’s, had a number of career- and season-best times. Sanders and Faris just missed out on the men’s 50 freestyle consolation finals, tapping in with times of 20.15 and 20.27, respectively. Matt Russell swam a time of 20.33 and freshman Stephen Wimmer finished at 20.60. Senior Reinhardt Strijdom clocked in with a time of 20.83 and sophomore John Bullock was right behind Strijdom with a time of 21.01. Freshman Jake Thomas finished the 50 freestyle at 21.31 and sophomores Pat Kemme and Ramon Walton finished with times of 21.34 and 21.49, respectively. Russell, Wimmer, Strijdom, Bullock, Thomas, Kemme and Walton each swam career-best times in the 50 freestyle. Every Kentucky swimmer earned a season-best time in the preliminaries of the 50 free.
Sophomore Travis Green led the Cats in the 500 freestyle with a career-best time of 4:26.41. Green finished in 17th-place, just one spot out of the consolation finals. Junior Ben Russell finished with a time of 4:36.92, a season-best time. The women’s team did not have anyone compete in the 500 freestyle.
Sophomore Tripp Crosthwaite paced UK in the 200 individual medley with a career-best time of 1:50.15 to finish in 24th-place. Freshman William Heidler also swam a career-best time of 1:50.32 in the 200 IM to finish in 26th-place. Freshman Carlos Sierra bettered his previous collegiate-best time by over four seconds with a time of 1:54.18.
On the women’s side, junior Claire Archibald led UK in the 200 IM with a career-best time of 2:01.99 to finish in 25th. Freshman Kelly Titus followed Archibald with a time of 2:02.42 to finish in 28th-place and set a new collegiate-best time for her career. Junior Jenna Willis swam a time of 2:05.21 and freshmen Marisa McGlynn and Samantha Wright each tapped in with times of 2:07.91 and 2:08.27, respectively.
Day three of the SEC Swimming Championships will feature the 400 individual medley, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and 400-medley relay. Preliminaries will begin at 10 a.m. ET and finals will begin at 6 p.m.
Updated stats from the SEC Swimming Championships can be accessed throughout the week at: http://www.gatorzone.com/swimmingdiving/tour/sec/2011/files/livestats/index.htm
The championships will be broadcast on a live stream on the Internet at: http://www.gatorzone.com
Check out UKathletics.com each day for results from the SEC Swimming Championships and all Kentucky swimming and diving news.
SEC Swimming Championships
Feb. 16-19, 2011
Gainesville, Fla.
DAY TWO (Kentucky results only)
Men’s 500 freestyle
17. Travis Green (4:26.41)
31. Ben Russell (4:36.92)
Men’s 200 IM
24. Tripp Crosthwaite (1:50.15)
26. William Heidler (1:50.32)
38. Carlos Sierra (1:54.18)
Women’s 200 IM
25. Claire Archibald (2:01.99)
28. Kelly Titus (2:02.42)
44. Jenna Willis (2:05.21)
52. Marisa McGlynn (2:07.91)
53. Samantha Wright (2:08.27)
Men’s 50 freestyle
12. Chip Aplin (19.94)
18. David Sanders (20.15)
20. Colin Faris (20.27)
23. Matt Russell (20.33)
28. Stephen Wimmer (20.60)
31. Reinhardt Strijdom (20.83)
32. John Bullock (21.01)
39. Jake Thomas (21.31)
40. Pat Kemme (21.34)
41. Ramon Walton (21.49)
Women’s 50 freestyle
7. Kayla Sergesketter (22.63)
18. Megan Eppler (23.15)
25. Kristen Wilson (23.38)
26. Jenna Newsome (23.41)
28. Mandy Myers (23.49)
35. Chatham Penrod (23.80)
37. Chelsea Peterson (23.89)
41. Anna Mattox (24.21)
45. Diana Norkus (24.54)
46. Lindsey Graessle (24.77)
Men’s 200-freestyle relay
5. Kentucky – Chip Aplin, David Sanders, Matt Russell, Colin Faris (1:19.03)
Women’s 200-freestyle relay
6. Kentucky – Kayla Sergesketter, Megan Eppler, Kristen Wilson, Jenna Newsome (1:31.14)
TEAM SCORES (including diving results from Feb. 11-13)
Men
1. Auburn – 378
2. Florida – 308
3. Tennessee – 263.5
4. Georgia – 202
5. Alabama – 129
6. KENTUCKY – 125
7. LSU – 116.5
8. South Carolina – 94
Women
1. Florida – 291
2. Georgia – 286
3. Auburn – 272
4. LSU – 190.5
5. Tennessee – 157
6. South Carolina – 148
7. KENTUCKY – 121
8. Alabama – 108.5
9. Arkansas – 100
10. Vanderbilt – 46
