Jan. 30, 2010

Complete Results | Senior Day Festivities  | Meet Gallery 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Led by its 15-member senior class the Kentucky swimming and diving teams dominated Cincinnati and Vanderbilt in the final dual meet action of the season on Senior Day at the Lancaster Aquatic Center.

The Blue and White had a tremendous outing in its final competition of dual meet action on Saturday, as the UK men scored a 183-91 victory over Cincinnati. The UK women defeated Cincinnati 179-91 and Vanderbilt 175-80.

To begin the meet the Wildcats scored 1-2 victories in the 200-medley relay from both the men’s and women’s squads.

Juniors Chatham Penrod (27.32) and Lindsey Graessle (29.52), senior Megan Pulskamp (24.62) and junior Jenna Newsome (23.09) combined for the top spot with a time of 1:44.55. The second-place finisher was comprised of sophomores Claire Archibald (28.15) and Jenna Willis (30.45), senior Anna Sirmon (25.58) and sophomore Kelsi Hall (23.18) for a 1:47.36 to edge the rest of the field.

On the men’s side, freshman Zach McGinnis (23.50) and the senior trio of Eric McGinnis (24.82), Elvis Burrows (21.14) and Alex Forbes (19.82) combined for a 1:29.28 first-place finish. Making up the second-place finish was sophomore Adam Twer (24.30), seniors Julio Vallette (25.38) and Warren Grobbelaar (21.98) and junior Chip Aplin (20.30) for a 1:31.96 time.

In the first individual heat of the day freshman Trina Winsor led the field in the 200-freestyle with a clip of 1:52.01. Junior Reinhardt Strijdom led a 1-2-3 finish in the event on the men’s side. Strijdom touched the wall in a time of 1:40.99, followed by freshman Travis Green (1:43.35) and sophomore Morne Boshoff (1:43.65).

Penrod paced three Wildcats to touch the wall first in the 100-back. Penrod clocked in a time of 56.16, followed by sophomore Claire Archibald (57.91) and freshman Megan Eppler (58.69). Zach McGinnis (49.94) and Greene (50.86) paced the field in the event on the men’s side.

UK’s women once again were the top three finishers this time in the 100-breaststroke. Graessle tapped in a time of 1:06.09 to take first. She was followed by Hall in a time of 1:07.34 and Willis in 1:07.39.

Vallette (56.75), sophomore Matt Russell (57.34), sophomore Grant Cooksey (58.24) and senior Justin Max (58.37) were the top four finishers in the 100-breast for the men.

Sirmon claimed a victory in the 200-fly with a time of 2:04.82 to keep the Blue and White on top. Freshman Maclin Simpson earned his first career dual meet victory when he led the men’s side in the event with a clip of 1:52.02. Sophomore Ben Russell placed second with a time of 1:53.66.

Newsome (23.49), Pulskamp (23.65) and junior Kayla Sergesketter (23.67) finished 1-2-3 in the 50-free.

Kentucky’s good fortune continued on the boards as junior Lisa Faulkner captured first on the one-meter with a score of 301.80, while freshman John Fox led the field on the three-meter with a score of 327.38.

Out of the break Sergesketter placed first in the 100-free with a clip of 51.08. Then Penrod (2:02.99), Archibald (2:03.09) and Eppler (2:05.12) mirrored their earlier finish with the same 1-2-3 finish in the 200-back, while Pulskamp led the field in the 100-fly with a 56.00 clip.

Zach McGinnis and Twer led a 1-2 finish in the 200-back on the men’s side. McGinnis and Twer finished with times of 1:51.98 and 1:54.52, respectively.

Winsor claimed her second win of the day with a first-place tap in the 500-free in a time of 4:56.16. Junior Tyler Reed won the same event for the men with a time of 4:34.54. Senior Marco Iemmola placed second to help give Kentucky the top two spots in the event as he touched the wall in a time of 4:38.99.

Faulkner and Fox then completed the sweep for the Blue and White on the boards. Fox claimed the one-meter with a score of 303.33 and Faulkner the one-meter with a score of 260.55.

The meet was the final dual meet action for the careers of 15 senior swimmers. Elvis Burrows, Alex Forbes, Kyle Greene, Warren Grobbelaar, Marco Iemmola, Justin Max, Eric McGinnis, Casey Miller, Travis Muzzillo, Megan Pulskamp, Chris Richard, Kevin Ryan, Anna Sirmon, Julio Vallette and Sydney Witzky capped their dual meet careers with a final impressive victory.

Kentucky is next in action at the SEC Championships beginning on Feb. 17th. The conference will converge on Athens, Ga., this season to determine the 2010 champions.

For the most up-to-date information regarding the Kentucky swimming and diving squads please visit UKathletics.com.