March 27, 2002
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Three University of Kentucky athletes will represent the men’s swimming and diving team this week as the 2002 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships get underway on Thursday, March 28 at the Gabrielsen Natatorium on the campus of the University of Georgia. Competing for the Wildcats are juniors Clayton Moss and Roger Watkins and sophomore Joey Faltraco.
The two-time SEC Champion on the one-meter springboard, Moss heads to the NCAA Championships for the third straight year. An All-American last season for his fourth-place finish in the one-meter competition at the championships, he also earned honorable mention All-America accolades for his 10th-place finish on the platform. He rounded out the 2001 competition by placing 18th on the three-meter springboard.
During the 2000 championship, Moss captured All-America honors for his eighth-place finish on the three-meter springboard and honorable mention All-America honors for his 10th-place finish on the one-meter springboard and 13th on the platform. He will compete on all three boards this week starting with the one-meter on Thursday.
Faltraco also has NCAA Championship experience, earning All-America honors in the 200-yard backstroke for his sixth-place finish as a freshman at South Carolina. This year he earned his way into the national championships by clocking a 1:45.33 in the 200-yard backstroke during the Southeastern Conference Championship preliminaries, an event that he placed sixth in. He will also compete in the 200-yard individual medley (1:49.17) and the 400-yard individual medley (3:52.67).
Watkins rounds out the field for the Wildcats. His NCAA experience came last year when he competed as a member of the 200-medley relay team, placing 13th, and the 200-freestyle relay team that finished 14th at the championships. As an individual last year, he placed 21st in the 100-yard breaststroke and 26th in the 200-yard breaststroke. This weekend he will be competing in both breaststrokes again. Both of his times (100 – 54.85, 200 – 1:59.86) were established at the Nike Cup in November at North Carolina.
UK’s best finish at the NCAA’s was last season when they scored 53 points for 17th-place.
All the action can be followed live by logging onto www.GeorgiaDogs.com.
-UK-
