LEXINGTON, Ky.?The quartet of senior Nikia Deveaux and juniors Heather and Jenny Bradford and Lauren Willis claimed the first SEC relay title in Kentucky history as they took gold in the 200-freestyle relay in the night?s final event.
The relay team qualified for a NCAA ?A? standard while setting a new UK varsity record and Lancaster Aquatic Center record with the win in a time of 1:29.27. ?That was just a great way to end the night,? said Coach Gary Conelly. ?They crushed the ?A? time and came very close to a SEC record.?
Heather Bradford took the first leg in a time of 22.77 to keep the home team close in second place. ?I didn?t think I was fast in my individual, but with my lead-off, I felt that I really got the girls pumped up,? said Bradford.
Willis swam the second leg and paced the Wildcats, staying in second place with a split time of 22.48. ?It?s so exciting,? exclaimed Willis. ?This is an honor of a lifetime. I swam my best split.?
Deveaux used 22.76 seconds in her third leg and the Wildcats tapped in third after 150-yards. ?This is my senior season, so finally getting the gold medal means so much to me,? she said. ?I swam my mind out and swam my best split. I was able to swim with fabulous girls and I was confident in my team.?
Jenny Bradford began the anchor leg almost a half second behind Georgia?s leader. The junior swam an astounding split of 21.26 seconds to overcome Georgia and guide the Wildcats to the victory.
?I was determined to make up the one-half second difference,? said Jenny Bradford. ?I could hear the crowd cheering for us and I just wanted to push the girl in the lane next to me. At the turn, I knew that we were ahead.?
The Bradford sisters and Deveaux were a part of the previous school record quartet of 1:31.11, two seconds behind tonight?s winning time.
In the individual events, Jenny Bradford captured silver in the 50-freestyle for the second consecutive season. The Groveport, Ohio, native tapped in a time of 22.05, and finished just behind Georgia?s Kara Lynn Joyce.
Heather Bradford grabbed a seventh place finish in the same event. Bradford notched a career-high with a time of 22.64 putting her in second place in the top-10 of UK?s varsity record books. Jenny Bradford?s time of 22.03, which she achieved in this morning?s preliminary round is tops in Kentucky?s annals. Both Bradfords earned NCAA ?A? cuts, automatically qualifying them for the NCAA Championships in the event.
Junior Lauren Willis added to Kentucky?s cause with a career-best time of 23.09 pushing her into fourth place in UK?s record books with a 14th place showing in tonight?s 50-free. Willis earned a ?B? standard.
The women conclude the night in second place, scoring 231 points. Auburn is first with 336 and Georgia trails UK by just two and a half points (228.50).
On the men?s side, sophomore Warren Grobbelaar took ninth, and first in the consolation heat of the 50-free with a 19.93 time. It?s Grobbelaar?s lifetime best time and moves him into fourth place all-time in Kentucky?s record books. The time is also good for a NCAA ?B? cut. Freshman Eric McGinnis placed 13th in the same event, clocking in a time of 20.30 also a career-best. McGinnis now holds eighth place in the varsity records.
Concluding the night for the men, the Wildcats took a fourth place showing in the 200-free relay. The foursome included Grobbelaar, freshman Alex Forbes, McGinnis and sophomore Shane Eliason who tapped in 1:19.78, a NCAA ?B? standard.
?Our team is so young,? said Grobbelaar. ?We?re made up of two freshmen and two sophomores, so to finish the way we did was great. I know we will come together and do really well in the years to come.?
Action resumes at the Lancaster Aquatic Center tomorrow at 10 a.m. EST. The men and women will compete in finals events in the 400-individual medley, 100-butterfly, 200-freestyle, 100-breaststroke and 100-backstroke.
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.
Women – Team Scores
1 Auburn University AU 336
2 Kentucky, University of UK 231
3 Georgia, University of UGA 228.5
4 Florida, University of UF 209
5 Louisiana State University LSU 203.5
6 Tennessee, University of UT 183
7 Alabama, University of UA 101
8 South Carolina, University of USC 94
9 Arkansas, University of UARK 88
10 Vanderbilt University VANDY 46
Men – Team Scores
1 Auburn University AU 450.5
2 Florida, University of UF 311
3 Georgia, University of UGA 216.5
4 Alabama, University of UA 153.5
5 South Carolina, University of USC 138
6 Tennessee, University of UT 133
7 Louisiana State University LSU 126
8 Kentucky, University of UK 65.5
