CHAPEL HILL, N.C.?Sophomore Megan Pulskamp claimed victory in the 200-butterfly highlighting the conclusion of the 2007 Nike Cup, hosted by the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Saturday.
The sophomore earned a career-best time and NCAA qualifying ?B? mark with a time of 2:00.42 to better the field in the final night of competition. Her previous best time had just been set a few weeks ago in a loss to Florida.
Junior Kelly Rames etched an 11th place finish in the 200-fly to earn valuable points for the Wildcats. Rames touched in a time of 2:07.55.
The men were equally impressive in the event, as senior Grant Nelson and sophomore Joe Retrum took second and third in the event. Nelson tapped in 1:48.44, with Retrum finishing in 1:48.84. Junior James Batley added a ninth showing with a time of 1:52.22.
Individually, senior Lindsay Myhre claimed third in the 200-breast with a time of 2:18.25, while freshman Lindsey Graessle took fifth with a time of 2:19.25. Freshman Danielle Weiss also scored in the event, taking 14th as she clocked in 2:22.83. Senior Kristian Outinen placed sixth in the event for the men, while sophomore Julio Vallette placed 15th with times of 2:05.18 and 2:11.28, respectively.
Junior Shane Eliason capped an impressive meet with a second place finish in the 200-backstroke. The junior needed just 1:46.98 to lead the Wildcats as the only scorer in the event on the men?s side. For the women, senior Jill Southerlan tapped in seventh with a time of 2:02.86, and senior Blair Barrett scored with a 13th place 2:03.92 time.
Overall the men and women placed nine swimmers in the 100-free. The women scored with five swimmers and the men with four. Leading the way for the UK lady swimmers, was freshman Jenna Newsome with a 10th place 51.74 tap. Her classmate Kayla Sergesketter finished just a shade behind in 11th with a time of 51.87. Sophomore Casey Miller was the final Wildcat in the finals race with a 12th place touch in a time of 51.98. In the consolation heat, junior Kristina Sledge won the heat with a time of 51.95, good for 14th overall. Junior Haleigh Kerns placed 16th in a time of 52.19.
On the men?s side, sophomore Alex Forbes took fourth with a time of 45.02 to lead the Blue and White. Freshman Tyler Reed secured another top-10 finish with 10th place in a time of 45.86. Sophomore Kyle Greene placed 11th, while junior Warren Grobbelaar placed 13th in times of 46.41, and 45.68, respectively.
Rounding out the individual scorers was the grueling 1650-free. Batley led the way with a fifth place mark in a time of 15:53.02. On the women?s side, Kerns and junior Leah Harms placed 12th and 14th in times of 17:06.47 and 17:10.95, respectively.
The night concluded with the men and women placing second and third, respectively, in the 400-free relay. The men were comprised of Forbes, Reed, Grobbelaar and Eliason and earned an NCAA ?B? mark of 2:58.89.
The women used the quartet of Newsome, Sergesketter, Sledge and Miller and finished in a time of 3:25.98.
UK returns to the pool November 30, at the Lancaster Aquatic Center when they host Indiana. The meet is slated for a 5:00 p.m. start.
