LEXINGTON, Ky.?Taryn Ignacio?s super run of domination on the platform event continued on Sunday, when the senior captured her third consecutive platform SEC Championship today at the Lancaster Aquatic Center.
The Richmond, Ky., native in front of her home crowd captured gold en route to setting new pool and SEC-records with a finals score of 319.75, the next closest contender was 25 points away.
?She had a good competition today, and she stayed steady under pressure,? said Coach Mike Lyden.
Ignacio got pressure from LSU?s Paige Brown who after three rounds held a slight edge over the defending champion.
?Paige Brown (LSU) put a lot of pressure on me after her first couple of dives,? said Ignacio. ?I just tried to keep my cool, and if I got second or third, at least I did my best.?
Well, second or third she did not, because in round four Ignacio landed a 67.20 score when Brown scored a 28.35 pushing the would-be-champion out of anybody?s reach.
Adding to Ignacio?s success was junior Kari Retrum who posted her second fourth-place finish in two days with a fourth-place on the platform. Kentucky?s women?s divers finished no lower than fourth in any event.
?I set some really high goals for myself, and I dove a lot better than I expected,? Retrum said. ?It was a great way to start, and a positive way to go in to Zones and NCAAs.
Kentucky holds a one and a half point edge over LSU going into Wednesday?s swimming events. UK recorded 103 points in the three diving events, with LSU notching 101.5 Auburn is third with 84.
On the men?s side, sophomore Justin Smith scored for the third event this weekend as he placed 14th on the platform event with a score of 231.60. His three scores were all career-firsts as he did not score as a rookie.
Auburn?s Steven Segerlin won the platform event, and subsequently was the champion on all three boards this weekend giving the reigning champions a commanding edge leading into the swimming portion of the SEC Championships.
Less than 100 tickets are available for the four day swimming sessions. Deck and bleacher tickets will be available for each day and will cost $20 for two sessions (one day of competition). Wed., Feb 7, preliminary heats will begin at noon with finals set to begin at 6 that night. Thursday-Saturday preliminary events begin at 10 a.m., with the finals taking place at 6.
Complete coverage of the 2007 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships can be found at www.ukathletics.com.
Men?s Team Scores
1 Auburn University AU 177
2 University of Florida UF 71
3 University of Georgia UGA 49
3 University of Alabama UALA 49
5 University of Tennessee UT 37
6 University of South Carolina USC 36
7 Louisiana State University LSU 28
8 University of Kentucky UK 23
Women?s Team Scores
1 University of Kentucky UK 103
2 Louisiana State University LSU 101.5
3 Auburn University AU 84
4 University of Tennessee UT 54
5 University of Georgia UGA 35.5
6 University of Arkansas UARK 30
7 University of South Carolina USC 28
8 University of Alabama UALA 18
9 University of Florida UF 15
