Jan. 29, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams topped Cincinnati on Saturday in a double dual meet among Kentucky, Cincinnati and Virginia Tech. The men’s and women’s teams lost to Virginia Tech but set five Keating Aquatics Center records throughout the afternoon.
The men’s team topped Cincinnati 206-75 but fell to Virginia Tech 197-99. Meanwhile, on the women’s side, Kentucky defeated Cincinnati 176.50-107.50, but lost to Virginia Tech 159-135. Nine KAC pool records were set Saturday among the three schools.
Senior Chatham Penrod had a great meet for the Cats. The Arcanum, Ohio, native swam the first leg of the first-place finishing women’s 200-free relay team. The quartet of Penrod, Lindsey Graessle, Mandy Myers and Kayla Sergesketter set a KAC pool record in the process, tapping in with a time of 1:45.07.
Penrod’s record-breaking day wasn’t over there. After taking home first place in the 100 backstroke, Penrod also won the 200 back with a KAC pool record time of 2:02.63. Claire Archibald finished in second in the race.
Sergesketter, a senior, had a strong meet by winning the 50 free and finishing in second in the 100 free. Kristen Wilson followed closely behind to finish in third and sophomore Megan Eppler finished in fourth with a season-best time of 52.01. Sergesketter also swam the first leg of the 200-free relay which broke a KAC pool record time. Sergesketter teamed up with Jenna Newsome, Eppler and Mandy Myers to finish with a time of 1:34.63.
The men’s team began the meet strong by breaking a KAC pool record time of 1:30.74 in the 200-medley relay en route to taking home first place. The 200-medley relay team consisted of Ramon Walton, Matt Russell, Jonathan Keltner and Chip Aplin.
Russell later won the 100 breast with a time of 56.90.
The Cats’ 200-free relay team of Colin Faris, David Sanders, Stephen Wimmer and Aplin won the final race of the afternoon and set another KAC pool record by tapping in with a time of 1:22.39.
The diving unit had an outstanding day, with the men and women taking home first place in all four diving events, the men’s and women’s one-meter board and the men’s and women’s three-meter board. All four divers, Lisa Faulkner, Emma Brown, Greg Ferrucci and Zack Peterson, earned season-best scores on the one-meter board.
“The divers did a nice job today,” UK diving head coach Ted Hautau said. “With all the windows and glare in Cincinnati’s pool it can be tricky to visually spot while spinning. They did a great job adjusting to the environment.”
Faulkner won the one-meter board with a season-best score of 321.20, and Brown earned a season-best score of 254.35. Faulkner also won the three-meter board with a score of 315.50.
Ferrucci won the three-meter board with a score of 377.00 and the one-meter board with a score of 368.85, a career-best score and the fourth best in program history. Peterson finished in fifth with a score of 313.20, also a career best.
“Everyone had a very good one-meter event, with all four divers going for personal bests,” Hautau said. “Emma did her best diving of the season today on one meter. Zack qualified for the NCAA zone championship and continues to improve every meet. Greg is just tough. He battled today and showed a lot of fight. Lisa is relaxing more and starting to compete smart. I’m very proud of her.”
Saturday’s meet in Cincinnati was the final meet of the regular season for Kentucky. The Wildcats will begin their postseason on Feb. 11 in Gainesville, Fla., with the Southeastern Conference Diving Championships. The SEC Diving Championships will run until Feb. 13 and the SEC Swimming Championships, also being held in Gainesville, will begin Feb. 16 and run through Feb. 19.
Check out UKathletics.com for all Kentucky swimming and diving news.
