BLACKSBURG, Va.?The University of Kentucky men?s and women?s swimming and diving teams combined for 14 first place finishes, but both dropped close meets to host Virginia Tech on Saturday.
It was the second meet in less than 24 hours for the Blue and White, as they were in Knoxville, Tenn. Friday afternoon for a tri-meet and then traveled to Blacksburg for the first ever meeting between the Hokies and Wildcats under Coach Gary Conelly.
The men fell to the ACC powerhouse 167-133, while the women dropped a 167.5-132.5 decision.
On the men?s side, Kentucky was led by a two-win performance from All-SEC performer Will Vietti. Vietti earned first in both the 100- and 200-breaststroke events. He first tapped in with a time of 58.02 in the shorter event, and then capped off the 200 in a time of 2:07.06. Vietti?s classmate Kristian Outinen claimed second in the 200-breast with a time of 2:08.32.
Senior Grant Nelson touched ahead of the field in the 500-freestyle with a time of 4:40.08. Sophomore Kyle Greene and freshman Tyler Reed earned a one-two finish in the 200-freestyle in times of 1:41.29 and 1:41.65, respectively.
Rounding out the first place winners for the men?s squad were sophomore Eric McGinnis and junior Shane Eliason. McGinnis tapped in a time of 45.89 for first in the 100-free. Eliason claimed first in the 200-backstroke when he clocked in 1:50.51.
Kentucky?s women?s team were led by two wins in the relay events and one-two finishes on both the one-meter and three-meter boards.
UK opened the meet victorious in the 200-medley relay as the team of seniors Jill Southerlan, Lindsay Myhre, Heather Bradford and Jenny Bradford finished in 1:44.50. The squad ended the meet with a win in the 200-free relay using freshman Jenna Newsome, Heather Bradford, senior Lauren Willis and Jenny Bradford. The 200-free relay team needed just 1:34.33 to claim victory.
The lady divers traded first and second places as freshman Jessie Snowden took the top honors on the one-meter while senior Kari Retrum placed first on the three-meter. Snowden scored 297.90 on the one-meter, winning the event in back-to-back meets. Retrum tallied 263.40 in her second place finish on the one-meter, and then won the three-meter with a mark of 289.05. Snowden stood in second with a 267.90 score.
Senior Jenny Bradford was the lone dual-winner for the women?s team as she topped the field in both the 50-free and 100-free. Bradford dominated the 50-free with a time of 23.02 and led the way for a one-two-three finish in the event for the Wildcats. Heather Bradford finished second, with Willis coming in third in times of 23.72 and 24.14, respectively.
Bradford clocked in 51.11 in the 100-free, with sophomore Sydney Witzky finishing second in a time of 52.81.
Sophomore Megan Pulskamp enjoyed a good afternoon winning the 200-fly, and taking second in the 100-fly. Pulskamp scored a 2:02.80 time in the longer butterfly event bettering the competition. She then placed second to teammate Heather Bradford (55.74) with a time of 56.27 in the 100-fly.
Kentucky?s women?s team returns to the water on Thursday, when they host Florida at the Lancaster Aquatic Center. The meet is slated to begin at 3 p.m. It will be the first home meet of the season for the Wildcats. The men and women will both be in action on Saturday, when they travel to Louisville for an intrastate meeting.
