Nov. 20, 2010
Tennessee Invitational Final Results
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams completed the third and final day of the Tennessee Invitational Saturday with Kayla Sergesketter leading the women’s side.
“It was a very good meet, especially for our women,” head coach Gary Conelly said. “We had outstanding performances from Kelcy Perry, Megan Eppler, Mandy Myers, Claire Archibald, Chatham Penrod, Lindsey Graessle and Lisa Faulkner. Our performances at this meet put us in position to end the season in the top 15 with our largest-ever NCAA team.”
The senior from Jasper, Ind., had another successful day Saturday, after nailing down numerous NCAA (B) qualifying times Thursday and Friday. Sergesketter, who earned NCAA (B) qualifying times Thursday and Friday in the 200 freestyle relay as the lead swimmer, the 400 medley relay as the anchor, the 50 freestyle, the 200 freestyle, and the 200 medley relay where she was the anchor, achieved two more NCAA (B) qualifying times Saturday in the 100 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay as the anchor.
“Kayla’s success is well earned,” Conelly said. “She is one of the hardest workers on the team and has a great attitude to succeed in the pool and the classroom. These times will put her in the very best nationally as well as put her on track to qualify for the NCAA championships.”
Sergesketter won the 100 freestyle with a time of 49.87. The women’s 400 freestyle relay team of Mandy Myers, Jenna Newsome, Kristen Wilson and Sergesketter came in third-place with a time of 3:23.17.
Mandy Myers finished in sixth-place in the 100 free with a time of 50.97.
Lindsey Graessle achieved an NCAA (B) qualifying time in the 200 breaststroke with a second-place finishing time of 2:15.27.
The women’s side did very well in the 200 backstroke. Senior Chatham Penrod won the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:58.78. Claire Archibald finished in third-place with a time of 1:59.92 and Megan Eppler came in fifth place with a time of 2:01.44. Eppler recorded a time of 2:01.09 in the preliminaries.
Kelcy Perry led the women’s side with a fifth-place finish in the 200 butterfly. Perry tapped in with a time of 2:02.42. Diana Norkus finished in seventh-place with a time of 2:03.85. Norkus had a time of 2:03.74 in the preliminaries.
Lisa Faulkner, a senior from Midlothian, Va., came in second-place for the Cats in the platform dive with a score of 240.00.
“The men were led by Colin Faris and Greg Ferrucci,” Conelly said. “While not as deep as the women, the men had some quality swims that should help to place several of the men at the NCAA Championships.”
On the men’s side, the 400 freestyle relay team of Colin Faris, Reinhardt Strijdom, David Sanders and Stephen Wimmer came in second-place with an NCAA (B) qualifying time of 3:00.15.
Faris earned a fourth-place finish in the 100 freestyle with a time of 45.38. Faris swam a 45.20 in the preliminary round.
Grant Cooksey and Carlos Sierra finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 200 breaststroke. Cooksey clocked in with a time of 2:04.23, while Sierra finished with a time of 2:06.82.
Freshman Greg Ferrucci led the way for the men’s divers with a score of 301.30, earning him a fourth-place finish.
The women’s side finished the Tennessee Invitational in third-place with 850 points. Virginia Tech won the Tennessee Invitational with 1,118 points, Tennessee finished in second with 918 points, followed by Kentucky in third and Alabama in fourth with 745 points.
On the men’s side, Kentucky finished the invitational in fourth-place with 566 points. Alabama won the invitational with 1,191 points, followed by Virginia Tech with 975.5 points and Tennessee in third with 932.5 points.
The Tennessee Invitational marked the final meet of the fall season for the Kentucky men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams. The Cats will hit the pools again Jan. 5 for a tri-meet with the Savannah College of Art and Design and Limestone in Savannah, Ga. The meet begins at 6 p.m.
Stay tuned to UKathletics.com for all Kentucky swimming and diving news.
