Oct. 24, 2002
Lexington, Ky. – The University of Kentucky men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams fell to perennial power Georgia on Thursday at the Lancaster Aquatic Center. Georgia, with both teams coming off top-10 national finishes a season ago, used their depth to outlast the Wildcats.
The Georgia men (2-0, 1-0 SEC) outscored Kentucky (0-1, 0-1 SEC) 143.5 to 88.5. Senior co-captain Roger Watkins was impressive for the Cats, winning the 200y-breaststroke with a time of 2:05.07, and finishing second in the 50y-freestyle in 21.29. Freshman Daniel Farnham won the 100y-freestyle for UK, finishing in 47.12, while fellow freshman Steven Manley took a third-place finish in the 200y-freestyle. Senior Matt Nilson finished third in the 200y-butterfly (1:52.84).
Kentucky was without the services of its top diver, Clayton Moss, who sat out with a minor leg injury, but Mario Rodriguez managed to win the three-meter board for the Cats with a score of 281.40.
“We got some good performances on the men’s side today,” head swimming coach Gary Conelly said. ” In particular, Daniel Farnham and Steven Manley were both impressive as freshmen, and Roger Watkins gave a great effort.”
On the women’s side, Georgia (2-0, 1-0 SEC) scored 148 points to 90 for Kentucky (0-1, 0-1 SEC). The highlight event for UK came in the 200y-breaststroke, where freshman Brennan Moore (2:04.64) and sophomore Jessica Siegele (2:06.23) finished second and third, respectively. Senior co-captain Emily Johnston gave a solid effort in the 200y-butterfly, finishing in third place with a time of 2:08.00. Sophomore Chrissy Miller picked up a third-place finish, as well, in the 100y-freestyle with a time of 52.31.
Jessica Thompson and Kelli Frost helped UK top UGA in the diving portion of the meet. The duo finished second and third, respectively, in both the one-meter and three-meter boards.
“The women had a little bit of a disappointing day today, but there were still several good efforts,” Conelly said. “Brennan Moore competed very well today and I saw a lot of improvement from Cami Miller, also.”
The Wildcats will be in action again Friday as they travel to Knoxville, Tenn. for a matchup with the Volunteers.
“Tennessee has a strong program,” Conelly said. “We feel that under the right circumstances we can go there and be competitive tomorrow. If we perform up to our ability we should give ourselves a chance to win.”
The meet Friday is slated for a 4 p.m. start at the Ray A. Bussard Pool on the UT campus.
