Feb. 16, 2010
ATHENS, Ga. – The Kentucky swimming and diving teams are set to converge on Athens, Ga., for the 2010 Southeastern Conference Championships beginning Feb. 17 and running until Feb. 20 for a four-day meet to determine the conference’s crowns.
Kentucky has enjoyed an impressive dual meet season that saw several Wildcats earn career best times and scores throughout the season. Four different UK athletes were honored by the conference office for weekly awards. Eric McGinnis, Tyler Reed, Chatham Penrod and Trina Winsor all claimed SEC Athlete of the Week honors – with Winsor hauling in a pair of SEC Freshman of the Week distinctions.
Perhaps the biggest highlight to the season thus far was the Wildcats’ performance at the Tennessee Invitational in November. The meet which is treated like a championship-type event with preliminary heats in the morning and finals races in the evenings saw the UK women capture first place and the men with runner-up status. Senior Megan Pulskamp won three individual events that week in helping the Wildcats to the impressive finish. Nearly all of Kentucky’s relay squads earned NCAA `B’ time standards – a sign of how valuable Kentucky’s relays are to the team’s overall success.
Kentucky is led by a tremendous senior class on the men’s side led by McGinnis, Warren Grobbelaar, Kyle Greene, Elvis Burrows and Alex Forbes. All five athletes have earned top-eight finishes in their careers at the conference meet and all have etched their names among some of the all-time greats at Kentucky.
On the women’s side, Pulskamp was a runner-up in the 100-butterfly a season ago and holds the UK record in that event. Penrod is a threat in the backstroke disciplines, while Winsor has emerged as UK’s top threat in the distance events.
Divers Lisa Faulkner and John Fox have both already earned NCAA Zone Diving qualifying standards. This marks the first SEC Championships for both divers.
A season ago the Wildcats finished seventh on the men’s side and ninth on the women’s. The men were plagued with a few false starts in the ever-crucial relays preventing a top-five finish. However, the men turned it around for an impressive finish at the national meet placing in the top-20 for the second consecutive season.
For the most up-to-date information regarding the Kentucky swimming and diving squads please visit UKathletics.com.
