Nov. 21, 2002
Lexington, Ky. – The University of Kentucky men’s swimming team stands in fifth-place after the first day of the Nike Cup Invitational at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C. The men tallied a team score of 99. The UK women are in seventh-place with a score of 57. Two days remain in the event.
The men were highlighted by a fourth-place finish from the 400-yard medley relay. The team of Joey Faltraco, Roger Watkins, Daniel Cruz and Steven Manley finished in a time of 3:18.71. Manley, a freshman from Dublin, Ireland, also took a victory in the “B” final of the 500 freestyle, finishing with the fifth-best time overall (4:28.63) in the event. Faltraco accomplished the same feat in the 200 IM, coming in with a time of 1:50.25. Clay Gasparovich posted a strong time (20.63) in the 50 freestyle, finishing second in the “B” final and sixth overall in the event.
Sophomore Chrissy Miller finished third in the 500 freestyle for the women. She qualified for the super final in the morning preliminaries with a time of 4:49.43 and finished third in the evening finals, improving that time to 4:49.01. Both those times set personal bests for Miller, giving her the fifth-fastest time in UK history. The 400 medley relay team of Joanna Chetcuti-McLean, Shantel Commander, Jessica Siegele and Miller finished in sixth-place with a time of 3:50.93.
The Cats will look to build on the performance as the competition continues tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 22. Both UK squads finished in fourth-place in last season’s Nike Cup.
