Nov. 21, 2009
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Behind three NCAA `B’ qualifying time standards the Kentucky women’s swimming and diving teams were able to capture the Tennessee Invitational crown on the last night of competition in Knoxville, Tenn. Kentucky’s women staved off a late-run by Virginia Tech to win with 837.5 points. The Hokies earned 799 points, with Tennessee finishing third with 790.5 and Alabama 752 points.
The Kentucky men were unable to overcome a late charge by the host Volunteers and Tennessee edged the Wildcat men by a mere 872.5 to 868.5 margin. Alabama finished third with 840 points and Virginia Tech earned 598 points.
“We are very pleased with our performances,” head coach Gary Conelly said. “This was our best-ever result at a November invite. There were so many outstanding team and individual efforts. Our performances are an indicator that all of the hard work is paying off and that we are going to be a force at the end of the season.”
UK’s women overwhelmed the field with five swimmers among the top-eight in the 100-freestyle. Megan Pulskamp won her third event of the meet by earning the top slot with a 49.98 time and an NCAA `B’ mark. Kayla Sergesketter placed fourth when she clocked in a time of 50.75. Chelsea Peterson earned fifth with a time of 50.76. Jenna Newsome (51.33) and Casey Miller (51.33) capped off the run by finishing seventh and eighth, respectively.
Pulskamp would later go on to claimed a team-best second-place finish in the 200-butterfly. The senior touched the wall in a time of 2:01.01 in her fourth top-two finish of the meet.
Chatham Penrod paced three UK swimmers to a top-four finish in the 200-backstroke. Penrod placed second with an NCAA `B’ clip of 1:58.85. Megan Eppler scored a third-place finish with a time of 2:00.43. Claire Archibald finished the scoring by clocking in a time of 2:00.81 good for fourth place.
Freshman Trina Winsor earned valuable points for the Blue and White with a fourth place touch in the grueling 1650-free. Winsor clocked in a time of 16:49.69.
Lindsey Graessle tapped in fifth place in the 200-breaststroke with a time of 2:18.38.
To finish the meet the Wildcat women finished in stylish fashion by capturing the 400-free crown and the final NCAA `B’ mark of the night. UK clocked in a time of 3:21.43 in the event.
Pulskamp took the first leg with a clip of 50.43. Sergesketter went second and earned a 50.57 split. Peterson was the third leg and used 49.87 seconds. Newsome anchored and came in with a time of 50.56.
On the men’s side, Tyler Reed won his second individual title of the meet with his victory in the 100-free. He earned an NCAA `B’ provisional mark with a time of 43.86. Alex Forbes was second with a time of 44.48. Warren Grobbelaar came in third and earned a time of 44.52. Kyle Greene (44.57) and Colin Faris (45.42) rounded out the scoring with fourth and seventh place finishes, respectively.
The Blue and White also earned an NCAA `B’ qualifying time with a win in the 400-free relay. UK clocked in a time of 2:55.69. The Blue and White used the quartet of Reed (43.86), Greene (43.99), Grobbelaar (44.31) and Forbes (43.53) in the win.
Julio Vallette notched his second top-six finish of the week with a sixth place tap in the 200-breaststroke. Vallette needed just 2:03.30 to earn the highest finish for the Wildcats in that event.
Morne’ Boshoff placed fourth in the 1650-free with a time of 15:44.62, while Travis Green was hot on his heels and tapped in fifth with a time of 15:44.67.
Capping off the top-eight finishers for the Blue and White were Adam Twer (1:49.51) and Zach McGinnis (1:50.62) who placed fifth and sixth, respectively in the 200-back.
Kentucky will take some much needed time off before returning to the water on Dec. 5. The Blue and White will host Indiana in its final fall action of the season. UK welcomes the Hoosiers to the Lancaster Aquatic Center for a 10:00 a.m. ET start time.
For the most up-to-date information regarding the Kentucky swimming and diving squads please visit UKathletics.com.
