Jan. 24, 2009

Complete Results | Photo Gallery

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky swimming and diving teams earned a split with in-state rival Louisville Saturday afternoon at the Lancaster Aquatic Center where several Wildcats shattered personal-best times and set school records in front of a packed crowd.

The Wildcat women behind individual wins from Jessie Snowden, Casey Miller, Megan Pulskamp and Chatham Penrod continued their winning streak over Louisville. The Cardinal men were able to snap a 14-meet losing streak against the Blue and White with a win today.

Kentucky’s women posted their 16th consecutive victory over their in-state foes with a 171-123 victory Saturday afternoon. The men fell by a margin of 178-120 to the top-20 ranked Cardinals.

Pulskamp was stunning for the Blue and White as she claimed first in both the 50-freestyle and 100-butterfly. She notched a 22.59 time in the 50-free and a 52.61 clip in the 100-fly. Pulskamp’s times in both events are career-best times. The 52.61 time is a new school record, breaking Heather Bradford’s record of 52.79 set in 2007. Additionally, Pulskamp’s time in the 50-free is now the third-best time in school allure.

Junior Casey Miller scored a school record in her win in the 200-IM with a time of 2:00.52. She added to that with a victory in the 200-free behind a time of 1:47.67. Her time moves her into second-place all-time in the UK record books with the career-best time. By setting the 200-IM record, Miller breaks Melissa Olson’s 10-year record of 2:01.02 set in 1998.

Penrod secured Wildcat wins in both backstroke events. The sophomore tapped in times of 54.35 in the 100-back and 1:58.25 in the 200-back. Penrod joined her teammates in etching career-best times in both events in her victories today. Her 100-back time is just a shade off of Jessica Siegel’s school record of 54.33, while her 200-back time is also second-best in school allure.

Sophomore Lindsey Graessle also set a career-best time in her victory in the 100-breast with a time of 1:01.54. The time is the second-best mark in school history.

Adding to UK’s outstanding day in the pool was junior Anna Sirmon who shot up UK’s record books into second-place all-time with a career-best time in her win in the 200-fly. Sirmon touched the wall in a time of 1:59.54.

The 200-medley relay squad nearly set a school record as well in their win. Today’s quartet of Penrod, Graessle, Pulskamp and sophomore Jenna Newsome touched in a time of 1:39.24, just a shade off of the school-record time of 1:39.19.

On the boards, Snowden was once again spectacular for the Wildcats. She captured wins on both springboards to help propel the UK women. Snowden tallied a score of 280.28 on the one-meter and 323.78 on the three-meter.

On the men’s side, the Wildcats got two victories out of freshman Morne’ Boshoff. The first-year swimmer scored wins in the 500- and 1000-free events with times of 4:23.86 and 9:08.54, respectively. Both clips are career-best times, and the 1000-free time pushes his name into the No. 2 slot on UK’s all-time chart.

Sophomore Tyler Reed captured a win in the 200-free behind a time of 1:35.25. The mark nearly matches his career-best time of 1:35.21.

Junior Elvis Burrows tallied a career-best time in the 100-fly when he clocked in with a 47.58 mark in his victory in the event. The time is the fourth best in school allure.

Senior diver Justin Smith completed the Wildcats’ impressive day with wins on both springboards, for his first wins of the season. Smith notched a score of 334.65 on the one-meter and 358.73 on the three-meter. The one-meter score is a career-best for the senior and moves him into fourth place all-time at Kentucky.

The records that were broken today and career-best times for the Blue and White is incredibly impressive for a dual-meet setting. Times are typically broken during championship events, which set up the Wildcats for a fast finish down the stretch.

UK will compete in one final dual meet when they travel to Cincinnati on Jan. 31, a week from today. Then the Blue and White will prepare for the SEC Championships which are slated to begin on Feb. 18.

Prior to today’s competition the Kentucky swimming and diving teams honored nine seniors who competed at home for the final time. They are James Batley, Matt Bierwirth, Shane Eliason, Leah Harms, Haleigh Kerns, Kelly Rames, Joe Retrum, Kristina Sledge and Justin Smith.

For all of your UK swimming and diving news and results please visit UKathletics.com, the official homepage of the Kentucky Wildcats.