Jan. 17, 2009
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky swimming and diving teams dominated visiting Alabama in a dual meet at Lancaster Aquatic Center Saturday. The Wildcat women earned a 182-116 victory, while the UK men clipped Alabama by a 159-139 margin,
To open the meet the Wildcats got things started with a bang capturing both 200-medley relays. The women began with sophomore Chatham Penrod, sophomore Lindsey Graessle, junior Megan Pulskamp and sophomore Jenna Newsome finishing in a time of 1:43.61. The Blue and White came in nearly a full second ahead of the Crimson Tide.
Kentucky’s men followed suit with a dominating performance in the 200-medley relay. Senior Shane Eliason took the backstroke leg, followed by junior Eric McGinnis in the breaststroke, junior Elvis Burrows in the butterfly and junior Alex Forbes anchoring the freestyle leg. The quartet clocked in with a time of 1:30.51, two seconds ahead of the visitors.
The UK women were equally impressive in the distance event that followed the opening sprint relay. Seniors Leah Harms and Haleigh Kerns finished in a one-two punch in the grueling 1650-free in times of 17:14.98 and 17:25.73, respectively.
The women followed with a one-two-three finish in the 200-free. Junior Casey Miller, sophomore Kayla Sergesketter and Kerns topped the order for the Blue and White. Miller touched in a time of 1:51.90 with Sergesketter coming in at 1:52.23 and Kerns touching in 1:52.75.
UK kept things going with another one-two finish this time in the 100-back. Freshman Claire Archibald scored first and Penrod took second in times of 57.22 and 57.30, respectively.
Graessle was the top UK finisher in the 100-breast winning the event in a time of 1:03.69. Pulskamp kept the good fortunes for the Wildcats going with a first place finish in the 200-fly with a time of 2:01.18. Prior to the first break, Kentucky’s sprit squad also came in with a one-two finish in the 50-free with freshman Kelsi Hall and Newsome leading the way. The duo touched in times of 23.67 and 23.68, respectively.
Out of the break, Newsome and Sergesketter tapped in first and second place in times of 51.95 and 52.15 in the 100-free.
Harms scored her second win of the day with a first place tap in the 500-free in a clip of 5:02.51. Pulskamp and junior Anna Sirmon placed in the top two spots in the 100-fly in times of 54.70 and 56.15, respectively. Miller placed first in the 200-individual medley with a finish of 2:05.42.
Sophomore Jessie Snowden, the reigning SEC Diver of the Week, captured wins on both springboards yet again today. Snowden took first on the one-meter with a score of 259.20, and first on the three-meter with a clip of 303.60.
The women concluded the meet in dominating fashion with a convincing victory in the 400-free relay. Newsome, Sergesketter, Archibald and Pulskamp combined for a 3:28.08 time, and the final victory.
On the men’s side, with the meet incredibly close between the two ranked squads the Wildcats got a huge boost out of sophomore Tyler Reed and junior Kyle Greene when they claimed the top two spots in the 200-free. Reed clocked in with a time of 1:39.60 and Greene came in at 1:40.62.
Eliason captured first place in the 100-back in a time of 49.35, and senior James Batley came in first in the 200-fly in a time of 1:52.08.
Much like the women, the men mirrored their finish in the 50-free taking the top four places in the event. Junior Alex Forbes (20.74) was followed by sophomore Colin Faris (20.89), McGinnis (21.12) and junior Chris Richard (21.17).
Forbes, McGinnis and Greene followed by capturing the top three spots in the 100-free. Forbes (45.31), McGinnis (45.45) and Greene (45.93) all finished a full two seconds ahead of Alabama’s closest finisher.
Eliason picked up his second win of the day when he touched first in the 200-back in a time of 1:50.28. He would also go on to win the 200-IM with a clip of 1:51.60.
Then the Wildcats scored another one-two-three finish in the 100-fly to pull away from the Tide. Burrows, junior Travis Muzzillo and senior Joe Retrum finished in that order in the event in times of 49.53, 49.86 and 50.81, respectively.
Much like the women, the Wildcat men finished the meet in convincing fashion with an unbelievable win in the in the 400-free relay. The quartet of McGinnis, Greene, sophomore Tyler Reed and Forbes notched a 3:04.16 time in the event to conclude the day.
Kentucky returns to action in one week when they host in-state rival Louisville at the Lancaster Aquatic Center. The meet will signify Senior Day for UK’s seniors and the final home meet of the season for the Blue and White. The meet is slated for a 2 p.m. start.
For all of your UK swimming and diving news and results please visit UKathletics.com, the official homepage of the Kentucky Wildcats.
