Nov. 19, 2009
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Kentucky swimming and diving teams captured a combined four victories and 12 NCAA `B’ qualifying time standards in taking the early edge at the Tennessee Invitational in Knoxville. After the first night of competition UK’s men have scored a staggering 362 points while the women tallied 326.5 points to grab the day one leads.
Kentucky’s men are nearly 100 points ahead of Tennessee (278), followed by Alabama (237) and Virginia Tech (186). On the women’s side, Kentucky leads Virginia Tech (277), Alabama (234) and Tennessee (229.5).
The No. 19 ranked UK men’s squad was simply incredible in guiding the Blue and White to such a large lead. Kentucky opened the meet by taking not only the first place finish, but also the second place tap in the 200-freestyle relay to garner a tremendous amount of relay points. Both relays also earned NCAA `B’ qualifying time standards in the finish.
The quartet comprised of Eric McGinnis, Warren Grobbelaar, Colin Faris and Alex Forbes posted a 1:19.14 time to lead the field. McGinnis earned and opening split time of 20.23 followed by Grobbelaar’s 19.73 time. Faris took the third leg in a time of 19.56 and Forbes anchored with a 19.62 split.
That squad was closely followed by the group of Chris Richard (21.21), Elvis Burrows (19.77), Travis Muzzillo (20.32) and Kyle Greene (19.77). The quartet comprised an NCAA `B’ time with a finish of 1:21.07.
Kentucky had three men place in the top-six in the 500-freestyle and all three times are good for an NCAA `B’ mark. Tyler Reed was the first Wildcat to finish as he tapped in second overall with a clip of 4:20.89. Travis Green scored a 4:27.74 time for fifth place. Morne’ Boshoff clocked in a time of 4:28.01 to earn sixth.
That set the stage for a remarkable performance in the 50-free where UK had the top four finishers and then had two others place in the top seven. The top four finishers all also earned an NCAA’ B’ standard.
Forbes won the event with a time of 20.04. McGinnis followed closely behind by touching in a 20.22 time. Grobbelaar and Faris tied for third with a time of 20.27. Burrows placed sixth by using a 20.51 clip and Greene rounded out the top-seven finishers with a seventh place tap in a time of 20.53.
UK’s men wrapped up the night by taking second in the 400-medley relay earning a time of 3:17.92 in the event. Zach McGinnis took the backstroke leg and posted a 50.90 time. Julio Vallette was the breaststroke leg and clocked in a split time of 55.44. Grobbelaar took the butterfly leg and earned a 48.04 time while Forbes anchored the freestyle leg in a time of 43.54.
Diver John Fox placed seventh on the three-meter board with a score of 302.50.
Kentucky’s women were equally impressive in helping the Wildcats claim the early lead. Much like the men the women opened the meet with a victory in the 200-free relay while achieving an NCAA `B’ time standard.
UK clocked in a time of 1:32.07 to win the event. Megan Pulskamp (23.07), Kelsi Hall (23.30), Chelsea Peterson (22.91), and Jenna Newsome (22.79) combined in the winning effort.
Freshman Trina Winsor earned quality points with her fifth place finish in the 500-free. Winsor tapped in a time of 4:52.68 to capture the top finish on the squad.
Claire Archibald placed third and Casey Miller took fourth in the 200-individual medley to aid the women’s cause. Archibald clocked in a time of 2:03.76 while Miller used just 2:03.87 in the event.
Kentucky’s women had three women place in the top-six in the 50-free with Pulskamp taking the top honors. The senior scored a first place finish with a time of 22.79 which is also good for an NCAA `B’ qualifying clip. Newsome scored a third place tap with a time of 23.43. Hall clocked in a time of 23.78 which was good for sixth place.
The 400-medley relay tapped in second, but earned the night’s final NCAA `B’ mark for the Blue and White. Chatham Penrod (55.86) took the backstroke leg with Lindsey Graessle earning a time of 1:02.70 in the breaststroke portion. Pulskamp took the butterfly leg and used just 53.85 seconds, while Newsome anchored the freestyle leg in a time of 50.54. The women combined for a 3:42.95 time.
Diver Lisa Faulkner wrapped up the scoring for the Wildcats with a fifth place finish on the one-meter board. Faulkner scored 270.05 points in her one event on the day.
Action resumes tomorrow in Knoxville. Preliminary heats begin in the morning with the finals heats set for 6 p.m. ET.
For the most up-to-date information regarding the Kentucky swimming and diving squads please visit UKathletics.com.
