March 2, 2014
ATHENS, Ga. – Freshman swimmer Kendra Crew set a new UK record in the 200 breaststroke to highlight the final day of the NCAA Last Chance Qualifier in Athens, Ga., Sunday for the University of Kentucky swimming program.
All five Wildcats to compete on the event’s second day placed in the top four of their respective events, and all earned NCAA B qualifying times.
Crew finished fourth in the A Final of the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:13.01. The school-record time is the eighth UK record broken during the 2013-14 season by Kentucky swimmers.
Freshman Kelly Berger placed second overall in the 1,650 yard freestyle in 16:22.01, the third-fastest time in school history. Fellow freshman Kendal Casey touched the wall in in 16:29.80, just behind Berger in third.
Kyle Higgins, also a freshman, added a fourth-place finish in 200 butterfly A Final with a time of 1:46.59. Senior Maclin Simpson was third in prelims of the same race and finished in 1:46.73 but did not race in the finals.
On Saturday, the first day of the Last Chance Qualifier, senior Lucas Gerotto, junior George Greenhalgh and Crew represented UK in an effort to improve their season-best times to earn an NCAA A or B qualifying time.
Greenhalgh, who posted the top time in the prelims of the 100 yard breaststroke, placed second in the A Final with a 53.77 after a 53.66 in the prelims.
Gerotto finished third in the A Final of the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 47.52. He also finished third in the prelims with a 47.40.
Both of Greenhalgh and Gerotto’s times were NCAA B qualifying times.
Crew recorded the sixth-fastest time in the prelims in the 100 yard breaststroke with a 1:02.75. While she qualified for the A Final, she did not compete in the evening final.
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.
