Athens, Ga. – Sophomore swimmer Jenny Bradford and junior diver Taryn Ignacio each earned All-America honors Thursday as the Kentucky swimming and diving team placed 10th after the first day of competition at the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga. The lady Cats were also able to gain honorable mention All-America honors in the 200 freestyle relay, the 400 medley relay and the 1-meter diving event on day one of competition.
Bradford, a native of Groveport, Ohio, highlighted the Cats? individual swimming performances by earning All-America honors after finishing fifth in the 50 freestyle. In the morning?s preliminary round, Bradford tied her school-record set in February at the Southeastern Conference Championships with a time of :22.10 which was good for second-place. Bradford?s fifth-place finish in the finals was a huge improvement from last season when she came in 40th at the NCAA Championships.
Ignacio, a two-time SEC diving champion in the platform, took eighth in the 1-meter to earn All-America recognition. Ignacio came in fifth in the prelim round with a score of 299.75. The Richmond, Ky., native bettered her prelim score in the finals with a score of 302.55. Ignacio improved on last season?s 17th-place finish at the NCAA Championships.
While Bradford and Ignacio led the Cats by gaining the NCAA Championships? top honors, several members of UK’s squad were able to net honorable mention All-America recognition. The 200 freestyle relay team took home honorable mention honors with a 10th-place finish. The team of senior Joanna McLean, junior Nikia Deveaux, as well as Jenny and Heather Bradford finished the finals with a time of 1:31.23.
The 400 medley relay team gained the same recognition as the 200 freestyle relay team by finishing 14th. The team of senior Laura Graham, sophomore Jill Southerlan and the Bradford twins notched a time of 3:40.99 in the finals.
Junior diver Joey Brown rounded out the Cats’ list of those who gained honorable mention honors by placing 12th in the 1-meter. The Laguna Niguel, Calif., native has been on a roll in the last month. At the SEC Championships, Brown came in third in all three diving events while at the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships she finished in the top-10 in the same three events.
?We had a really good first day,? head coach Gary Conelly said. ?Our goal of finishing in the top-10 (in the nation) is within our reach. We just need to have another good day tomorrow and then finish the meet off strong in the platform diving event on Saturday. We are definitely on pace to surpass a 100 points which would be one of our highest totals ever.?
The NCAA Championships will continue tomorrow at 11 a.m. EST with the preliminary rounds of the 200 medley relay, the 100 breaststroke and the 3-meter diving event. Fans can check ukathletics.com for a complete recap at the conclusion of the day’s action.
