LEXINGTON, Ky.- The 2007-08 Kentucky Wildcats are looking to continue their emergence as a top women?s swimming and diving program, hoping to improve off a school-best 12th place finish at the NCAA Championships last year in Minneapolis.
This year?s squad boasts a strong group of senior leaders that Coach Gary Conelly believes will have very good endings to their careers.
?Our seniors all seem to be really focused and want to go out on a high point in their senior years,? said Conelly. ?Sometimes you?ll see seniors who kind of letdown because it?s their senior seasons, but not these girls. I think you?re going to see really good swims from them across the board.?
Seniors Heather and Jenny Bradford are a part of the 200-free relay team that won the school?s first-ever SEC Championship relay event and have combined for 22 All-America distinctions.
?I think the Bradfords should have their best seasons ever,? Conelly commented. ?The focus this year is to try and get them to flow at the same time. I think there?s a very distinct possibility that they will go to the NCAA?s with a chance to be All-Americans in all three individual events and all four of their relay events. We?re very optimistic that this will be a really good year for them, and they?ve had three terrific ones already.?
The team will utilize that strong leadership and experience to carry them back to the NCAAs, in search of a top-10 finish.
?Expectations are high,? Conelly admitted. ?We lost some good swimmers and divers, but in a lot of respects we feel like we reloaded more than what we had before. The truth of the matter is in the SEC, getting beyond fourth is going to be tough. But we have a real good group, and I think we?ll have some legitimate chances to do that.?
BACKSTROKE
Sophomore Chatham Penrod returns as a top-candidate for a breakout season after a freshman campaign that saw her succeed in several events, including team top times in both the 100- and 200-events. Joining the ranks is senior Jill Southerlan who endured an injury-plagued junior season.
?Right now Jill?s training very well,? said Conelly. ?If she can train at the level she?s at right now over the course of the season, I think she?s going to have a great season, and I think she could make both cuts in the 100 and 200.?
Adding some depth to the backstroke event will be senior Blair Barrett. ?As a senior, Blair is very focused on wanting to go out with a bang,? Conelly said. ?She?s training very well right now and seems poised to have a really good year. Her pacing in practice is faster than anything she?s ever had before.?
BREASTSTROKE
Senior Lindsay Myhre is the lone senior and top returnee. Myhre recorded the two top times for the Wildcats during last season. She also made her first career appearance at the NCAA Championships and was among a third-place 200-medley relay at the SEC Championships a season ago.
?Lindsay did a really nice job over the summer in her training and I think she?s going to do really well this season,? Conelly said.
Additional swimmers in the breaststroke events are sophomore Casey Miller and freshmen Lindsey Graessle and Danielle Weiss.
BUTTERFLY
Heather and Jenny Bradford are a one-two punch in the 100-fly. Heather ranks at the top in Kentucky record books and earned a seventh place finish at the NCAA Championships a season ago.
They will be assisted in the longer heats by sophomore Megan Pulskamp, who led the team last year in the 200-fly, and looks to sneak up on some people this upcoming season.
?If you talk about a surprise factor, she might be that,? said Conelly. ?She swam very well last year, but I think she?s going to swim even better this year. She?s one that I don?t think can just get to the NCAAs, but she can score there. She is focused and motivated and I think she?ll just have a great year and be a scorer on the national level for us.?
Junior Kelly Rames is also among the candidates to pace the distance fly events and sophomores Christina Morgan and Anna Sirmon will provide added depth to the event.
FREESTYLE
Much of the distance freestyle event will be placed on the shoulders of junior returnee Haleigh Kerns, who will look to improve off of a season in which she led the team in multiple events. The potential is there for her to have a tremendous season and gain recognition for a trip to her first career NCAA Championships.
Junior Kristina Sledge paces the Wildcats in the mid-distance range after having a break-out season as a sophomore and making her first ever trip to NCAAs, Sledge is poised for a continual trek of improving times. Adding to the depth in the distance swims is junior Leah Harms who is also on the verge of having an outstanding season.
The sprinters are led by an array of seniors that include the Bradfords, Kelley Morrison, Beth Parsons and Lauren Willis. The five will be looked upon to form a potent sprint group. Willis made the NCAA Championships a season ago and was a member of the 200-free relay team that made history. Parsons is motivated to join the relay and make a big impact on the sprint team in her final season.
Freshmen Jenna Newsome and Kayla Sergesketter are among newcomers Conelly feels will push his seniors for spots on the relay and in sprint events.
INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
Myhre, Childress and Casey Miller will hope to carry the team in the most difficult swim of any competition. Myhre should improve on her team-leading production from a year ago.
All three will provide much needed depth in a grueling event, something the team has lacked the past few seasons.
RELAYS
?At the very highest levels, when talking about NCAA?s, we feel like we can get all our relays there, and I think that four of the five we should be able to get into the top-eight,? said Conelly.
Conelly undoubtedly believes the strength of this team is the relays. The 200-free SEC winning team brings all but one member back, returning both Bradford sisters and Willis.
?We lost Nikia (Deveaux), which was a big part of that 200 free-relay that won SECs,? he said. ?But we should have some great competition to insert another strong swimmer in there. I think that group is a legitimate threat to win conference again, and I don?t think it?s out of the realm of possibility that they could be in the top-three at NCAA?s.?
DIVING
With departed All-American Taryn Ignacio graduated, Coach Mike Lyden?s will now look to senior Kari Retrum, who returns after another excellent season. Retrum the 2004 SEC Freshman Diver of the Year, made her first career appearance at the NCAA Championships last season. She earned All-America distinctions on both the one-meter and platform events.
The goal does not change this season, as defending SEC Coach of the Year Lyden fully expects Retrum to contend for an SEC title on all three boards.
Joining Retrum is freshman Jessica Snowden. Snowden comes to Kentucky having had an outstanding career in Washington both on the high school and national levels. Snowden will be asked to fill a large role immediately to aide in the Wildcat cause.
