Oct. 25, 2013
CARBONDALE, Ill. – The University of Kentucky swimming and diving team posted its first wins of the season with a sweep by the women and a split from the men against Missouri and Southern Illinois Friday morning in the final day of competition at SIU’s Dr. Edward J. Shea Natatorium.
The UK women (2-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference ) swept both SIU and Mizzou, with a 228-218 victory over the Tigers and a 310-138 win over the Salukis. The Wildcat men (1-3, 0-2 SEC) posted a 312-136 win against SIU but suffered a 267.5-177.5 defeat to MU.
“It was great for our girls to get two wins,” UK head coach Lars Jorgensen said. “I was really proud of their effort and many individual performances. Freshman Kendal Casey was very good again, as were juniors Abby Myers and Christina Bechtel. Abby was really outstanding today. On the men’s side, Brendan Flynn swam very well, he went undefeated both days and was definitely the star of the team. I thought the guys fought harder today.”
A day after winning nine events in the first half of competition Thursday night, UK responded with another nine wins the following morning. The second day’s total includes three events where Kentucky posted the top three times. A full recap of the first day of racing can be found here.
Senior Eric Bruck, Casey, Flynn and Myers each posted two wins Friday. Casey and Flynn, both freshmen, also claimed two victories in Thursday’s competition, while Myers’ two wins Friday came on the heels of one win yesterday. Freshman Danielle Galyer recorded a first-place finish after her first collegiate victory last night. Bruck’s second win was part of a relay, with fellow senior Chris Lott, junior Derrick Smith and senior Will Heidler.
Kentucky posted the top three times in three races, while UK also finished second in six events that it did not win.
“We still have a long way to go from where we need to be,” Jorgensen added. “We’ll get back to work and prepare for the next race, which will be another challenge. Indiana and Tennessee are two very good teams.”
UK returns to the road next Friday against Indiana and Tennessee in Bloomington, Ind. The tri-meet between the SEC and Big Ten teams will begin at 2 p.m. ET on Nov. 1.
The Wildcats’ first one-two-three finish was in the women’s 200 yard butterfly, where Myers recorded a 2:01.60 to beat out Bechtel by just 0.11 seconds. Senior Diana Norkus finished third in 2:07.90. Myers’ other victory came in the 1,000 yard freestyle, where a 10:13.21 was fast enough for a 0.19 second win. Myers also added two runner-up finishes as part of relay teams.
The women also posted the fastest three scores in the women’s 500 yard freestyle. Casey touched the wall first in 5:01.70, followed by freshman Kelly Berger’s 5:03.83 and junior Blair Kuethe’s 5:06.80. Casey notched UK’s first win of the morning with a 10:13.21 finish in the 1,000 yard freestyle.
UK’s final one-two-three finish was provided by the men in the 500 yard freestyle. Flynn, who earlier won the 1,000 yard freestyle in 9:21.94, came in first in the 500 yard event with a time of 4:32.26. Sophomores Matt Roman and Scott Crosthwaite finished second and third with 500 yard times of 4:37.81 and 4:39.60, respectively.
Bruck’s first win came in the men’s 50 yard freestyle, where he finished in 20.85 to beat out Mizzou’s Logan Mosley by 0.15 seconds. His second win came in the men’s 200 yard freestyle relay, with the help of Lott, Smith and Heidler. UK finished in 1:22.92 to win the final swimming event of the competition.
Galyer, one of four Wildcats who won their first collegiate race Thursday, also posted a victory Friday, this time in the women’s 200 yard backstroke. The first year swimmer recorded a time of 2:03.52 to win the event by 1.01 seconds.
In his first season as head coach of the Wildcats, Jorgensen earned his first victory Friday after opening the season with losses to perennial national powerhouses Georgia and Ohio State. With three wins in dual or tri meet competition, UK is just one win shy of matching last season’s win total of four.
For complete news and updates on the Kentucky Swimming and Diving program, go to UKathletics.com/SwimmingDiving. Breaking news, behind-the-scenes updates, photos and more can be found on Twitter at @UKSwimDive and Facebook at Facebook.com/UKSwimDive.
