Oct. 10, 2002
Lexington, Ky. – The University of Kentucky swimming and diving teams competed in their annual blue-white exhibition today, Thursday, Oct. 10, with the blue team pulling out a close victory. An aggregate time scoring system was used in the meet, with the blue team finishing 10 seconds ahead of the white.
Senior All-American diver Clayton Moss took top honors in all three diving competitions. Moss posted a one-meter board score of 171.00, a three-meter board score of 213.75 and a 124.20 on the platform. Freshman Jessica Thompson was the top female diver of the day. Thompson recorded a 134.92 on the one-meter, 159.60 on the three-meter and 109.35 on the platform.
Junior swimmer Joey Faltraco won the 200-yard backstroke in impressive fashion with a time of 1:49.89, and also won the 150-yard butterfly in a time of 1:23.38. Senior Roger Watkins took top honors in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:06.01) and the 75-yard (no backstroke) individual medley (38.98). Freshman Steven Manley looked strong in his debut, winning three events. Manley, a native of Dublin, Ireland, showed his versatility by recording victories in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:01.15), the 200-yard freestyle (1:42.52) and the 75-yard (no butterfly) IM (42.31). Junior Fernando Barros won the 100-yard butterfly (52.67) as well as the 150-yard backstroke (1:29.75).
Sophomore Jessica Siegele led the way for the women, recording the fastest time in the 100-yard butterfly (1:00.53), the 150-yard backstroke (1:32.71) and the 50-yard freestyle (25.42). The women also got strong performances from some new faces, as freshmen Laura Graham (27.94) and Joanna Chetcuti-McLean (28.47) finished first and second, respectively, in the 50-yard butterfly. Fellow freshman Brennan Moore was the top finisher in the 200-yard backstroke, finishing in 2:09.80. Shantel Commander, a freshman from Nashville, Tenn., was strong on the day as well, winning the 200-yard breaststroke (2:24.54) and finishing second in the 100-yard butterfly (1:01.94) and the 50-yard freestyle (26.05).
“Faltraco and Watkins swam good times and the freshmen were strong for the women, but I really think we’re going to have to get in better shape in the next couple of weeks,” Conelly said.
“Across the board there were not a lot of great efforts today, but we’ll continue to work and I think we’ll be ready when we open our schedule.”
The Cats will be back in action on Oct. 19 as they host the Kentucky Relay Meet at 2 p.m. in the Lancaster Aquatic Center. The meet is open to the public and admission is free.
