Oct. 8, 2009
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky swimming and diving teams will begin their 2009-10 campaigns on the road at South Carolina in the first of nine dual meets for the squads this season.
UK is set to take on the Gamecocks at 1:00 p.m. ET in Columbia Friday afternoon. It marks the first competition of the season for both squads in UK coach Gary Conelly’s 19th season.
Expectations are plentiful for the 2009-10 edition of the UK men’s swimming and diving team. The Wildcats return 20 letterwinners and six All-Americans from a team that placed 17th at the NCAA Championships a season ago.
“The expectations for the men’s team are extremely high simply based on the number of quality returners we have coming back,” said Conelly. “The core nucleus returns from a year ago and they were a top-20 team last season.”
Seniors Elvis Burrows, Alex Forbes, Kyle Greene, Warren Grobbelaar and Eric McGinnis have all earned All-America status throughout their careers in the Blue and White. As a unit they are unquestionably among the top tier of athletes for the Wildcats, but their drive and leadership in their final seasons could provide UK with the spark to achieve a top-10 national finish.
On the women’s side, after five school records falling, including three individual times a year ago, the Kentucky women’s swimming and diving team is looking to new heights in 2009-10. The women return a number of key components from a season ago–including record holders Casey Miller, Chatham Penrod and Megan Pulskamp.
“This team possesses the talent to have a really good season if everybody continues to make strides and continues to improve,” said Conelly. “We’ve changed the way we train a bit to help maintain the team’s conditioning for the long haul, which I think will pay dividends for this group.”
Despite a small squad in numbers, Conelly believes this team has the depth and talent to make waves both at the conference meet and on the national scene.
Stay tuned to UKathletics.com for complete up-to-date information regarding the Kentucky swimming and diving teams.
