NCAA Div. I: Kentucky Sweeps Kentucky Relays

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Oct. 19. THE University of Kentucky men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams both picked up wins in the inaugural Kentucky Relay Meet, today.

The UK women scored a combined 178 points, besting Western Kentucky (124) and Transylvania (94). The Wildcats also won the men’s division with a score of 156, ten better than Western Kentucky’s 146. Transylvania finished third with a score of 86.

The Kentucky women took a first-place finish in every event except the 300-yard backstroke. The 150-yard butterfly team of Jessica Siegele, Marci Vrooman and Amanda Bourgeois finished in 1:20.21 to win the opening event of the meet. Joanna Chetcuti-McLean, Shawna Sechrist and Sigele finished the 150-yard backstroke in 1:20.24 to win that event.

The UK men had to hold off a charge from WKU, as they sealed victory in the 400-yard medley relay. In the closest race of the day, Cody Nath, Roger Watkins, Daniel Cruz and Daniel Farnham finished in 3:26.94 to beat Western’s time of 3:27.77.

Steven Manley, Farnham and Fernando Barros were impressive in their 150-yard freestyle victory (1:02.54).

"We’re pleased with the effort we got today," head swimming coach Gary Conelly said. "Collectively, as a team, we faced some adversity and rose to the occasion. We had swimmers who performed well under pressure."

The UK teams also took victories in the diving portion of the competition. The women, led by senior Kelli Frost, won the one-meter springboard with a score of 254.2 and the three-meter springboard with 275.45. Clayton Moss and Mario Rodriguez led the men to a win on both boards as well, with scores of 300.7 on the one-meter and 311.9 on the three-meter.

The swimming and diving teams will open their dual-meet season on Thursday, Oct. 24, when they play host to Georgia. That meet is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start at the Lancaster Aquatic Center on the UK campus. The event is open to the public and admission is free.

"We realize we still have a lot of work in front of us, but we’re confident that we will compete well against Georgia," Conelly said.

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