Feb. 16, 2011
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Records dropped in each of the four relays swam on day one of the Southeastern Conference Swimming Championships Wednesday at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla. The Kentucky men’s and women’s swimming teams turned in season bests in the 200-medley relay and 800-freestyle relay, and sit in sixth- and seventh-place, respectively, in the team standings.
Day one of the SEC Swimming Championships featured the men’s and women’s 200-medley relays and 800-freestyle relays.
“We were very pleased with our swims tonight,” UK head coach Gary Conelly said. “We set three individual team records as well as the women’s 200-medley relay. The relay missed the A-cut by less than .2 seconds and would have scored in the top eight of last year’s NCAA Championships. Pretty much everyone who swam today went a lifetime best. The meet is really fast and the team is really going to the next level. We can’t wait for tomorrow.”
The men’s 200-medley relay team of Ramon Walton, Matt Russell, Jonathan Keltner and Chip Aplin clocked in with a time of 1:27.73 to finish in sixth place. Host school Florida won the relay with a time of 1:24.94, the fast time recorded in the country this year.
Similar to the men’s side, the women’s 200-medley relay team also tapped in for a sixth-place finish. Led by Chatham Penrod, Lindsey Graessle, Mandy Myers and Kayla Sergesketter, the Cats finished with a time of 1:37.97, breaking their previous season-best time of 1:39.82 by nearly two seconds. Auburn won the relay with an SEC-record setting time of 1:36.11.
The men’s 800-freestyle relay race was one of the fastest relays swam in the country this year. Kentucky’s men’s 800-freestyle relay team of Travis Green, Reinhardt Strijdom, William Heidler and Colin Faris finished in seventh place with a time of 6:33.39. The Cats improved upon their previous season-best time of 6:45.29 by 11.90 seconds. The top three men’s 800-freestyle relays were the three fastest relays swam in the country this year.
Kentucky’s 800-freestyle relay team of Chelsea Peterson, Megan Eppler, Kristen Wilson and Jenna Newsome finished with a time of 7:20.03 to earn an NCAA (B) provisional time. The Cats bettered their previous season-best time of 7:24.90 by more than four seconds. Georgia won the relay by setting a new SEC and American record of 6:53.58.
Day two of the SEC Swimming Championships will feature the 500 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 50 freestyle and 200-freestyle relay. Preliminaries will begin at 10 a.m. ET and finals will begin at 6 p.m.
Updated stats from the SEC Swimming Championships can be accessed throughout the week at: http://www.gatorzone.com/swimmingdiving/tour/sec/2011/files/livestats/index.htm
The championships will be broadcast on a live stream on the Internet at: http://www.gatorzone.com
Check out UKathletics.com each day for results from the SEC Swimming Championships and all Kentucky swimming and diving news.
SEC Swimming Championships
Feb. 16-19, 2011
Gainesville, Fla.
DAY ONE
Men’s 200-medley relay
1. Florida – 1:24.94
2. Auburn – 1:25.52
3. Tennessee – 1:26.07
4. LSU – 1:26.59
5. Georgia – 1:27.60
6. UK (Ramon Walton, Matt Russell, Jonathan Keltner, Chip Aplin) – 1:27.73
7. Alabama – 1:28.01
8. South Carolina – 1:29.30
Women’s 200-medley relay
1. Auburn – 1:36.11
2. LSU – 1:36.91
3. Tennessee – 1:37.09
4. Florida – 1:37.40
5. Georgia – 1:37.67
6. UK (Chatham Penrod, Lindsey Graessle, Mandy Myers, Kayla Sergesketter) – 1:37.97
7. Alabama – 1:40.99
8. South Carolina – 1:41.78
9. Arkansas – 1:41.94
10. Vanderbilt – 1:46.50
Men’s 800-free relay
1. Florida – 6:13.74
2. Tennessee – 6:21.00
3. Auburn – 6:21.79
4. Georgia – 6:22.13
5. South Carolina – 6:27.30
6. Alabama – 6:27.92
7. UK (Travis Green, Reinhardt Strijdom, William Heidler, Colin Faris) – 6:33.39
8. LSU – 6:34.94
Women’s 800-free relay
1. Georgia – 6:53.58
2. Florida – 6:59.10
3. Tennessee – 7:03.44
4. Auburn – 7:04.68
5. LSU – 7:12.73
6. Arkansas – 7:15.49
7. South Carolina – 7:19.66
8. UK (Chelsea Peterson, Megan Eppler, Kristen Wilson, Jenna Newsome) – 7:20.03
9. Alabama – 7:20.73
10. Vanderbilt – 7:37.13
TEAM SCORES (including diving results from Feb. 11-13)
Men
1. Auburn – 201
2. Tennessee – 199.5
3. Florida – 129
4. LSU – 99.5
5. Alabama – 93
6. Kentucky – 92
7. Georgia – 73
8. South Carolina – 50
Women
1. Auburn – 166
2. Florida – 153
3. South Carolina – 108
4. Georgia – 106
5. Tennessee – 96
6. LSU – 93.5
7. Kentucky – 83
8. Arkansas – 76
9. Alabama – 73.5
10. Vanderbilt – 32
