Kentucky Downs No. 24 Texas A&M Men, Vanderbilt Women

LEXINGTON, Kentucky, December 2. THE University of Kentucky men's and women's swimming and diving teams returned home for the first time this season and used two dominating performances. The men toppled No. 24 ranked Texas A&M 176-124, while the women defeated SEC-newcomer Vanderbilt 168-98.

The Wildcat men claimed 10 of the 16 events on their way to defeating the visiting Aggies. Senior Eric Weber and sophomore Shane Eliason were multiple winners on the day for the Blue and White.

Weber achieved career-best times in both of his 500- and 1000-freestyle wins. The native Kentuckian touched in a time of 4:36.48 in the 500 and 9:22.93 in the 1000. They were the first wins of the year for the only senior on the team.

Junior Grant Nelson also achieved a personal best time in the 1000-free when he tapped in second in a time of 9:33.81.

Eliason nabbed first in each of the backstroke events, the 100- and 200. He claimed the events in times of 50.86 and 1:49.26, respectively.

Also getting wins for the Wildcat men were: freshmen Kyle Greene and Eric McGinnis, and sophomores Warren Grobbelaar and Mickey Malul.

Greene earned first in the 200-free in a time of 1:41.80. McGinnis claimed the top spot in the 100-free touching in a time of 45.97. Grobbelaar's time of 21.00 beat all swimmers in the 50-free. The sophomore also earned a second place finish in the 100-butterfly in a time of 49.76. Malul clocked in a time of 55.53 for first place in the 100-breaststroke.

The men also claimed both of the relay events to secure the victory. They began the meet with a dominating performance in the 200-medley relay taking it in a time of 1:29.95. Junior Kristian Outinen, Malul, Grobbelaar and McGinnis made up the quartet of swimmers to kick start the meet. In the final event of the meet, Grobbelaar, McGinnis, freshman Alex Forbes and Eliason touched in a time of 1:22.93 in the 200-free relay.

On the boards, sophomores Justin Smith and Dan Cuilla earned second place finishes on the one-meter and three-meter board, respectively. Smith scored 263.40 on the one-meter and Cuilla 288.75, a new career best, on the three-meter.

On the women's side, multiple winners for the Cats were freshman Megan Pulskamp, sophomore Kristina Sledge and junior Beth Parsons. The women captured 13 of the 16 events.

Pulskamp earned wins in the 50-back and 50-fly in times of 27.86 and 26.87, respectively. Sledge claimed the top spot in both the 100-fly and 100-breast. She clocked in times of 59.56 in the 100-fly and 1:10.79 in the 100-breast.

Parsons claimed each of the sprint freestyle events, taking first in the 50- and 100-free. She tapped in times of 24.89 and 55.70.

Also earning wins for the Wildcats were junior Heather Bradford in the 200-free (1:56.10), freshman Chatham Penrod in the 100-back (1:00.78), freshman Casey Miller in the 50-breast (32.71) and sophomore Kelly Rames in the 500-free (5:20.30).

The women claimed first in the 200-medley relay as a team of junior Jill Southerlan, Miller, Bradford, and junior Lauren Willis earned a time of 1:49.06.

Also gaining valuable points for the Wildcats were the 1-2 finishes of the divers in both the one- and three-meter board events.

Senior Joey Brown took first on the one-meter with a score of 304.35, a new career best. Junior Kari Retrum placed second in the same event after scoring 273.30. On the three-meter board, Retrum earned first with a score of 286.58, and senior Taryn Ignacio placed second with a score of 274.05.

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