Kentucky Sweeps Louisville

LEXINGTON, Kentucky, January 21. THE University of Kentucky men's and women's swimming and diving teams each earned a dual meet victory over intrastate rival Louisville on Saturday at the Lancaster Aquatic Center. The men topped the Cardinals 181-106, while the women won 170-125.
The men began the meet with a win in the 200-medley relay taking the top spot in a time of 1:29.68. The quartet of junior Kristian Outinen, sophomore Mickey Malul, sophomore Warren Grobbelaar and freshman Eric McGinnis got the meet started for the Cats.

Senior Eric Weber ended his four-year career with a win in the 1000-freestyle event in a time of 9:27.10. Freshman Marco Iemmola and sophomore Vincent Tortora fell in right behind Weber in second and third.

Freshman Kyle Greene and sophomore James Batley went 1-2 in the 200-freestyle. Greene tapped in a time of 1:40.82 and Batley clocked in a time of 1:42.25. Sophomore Shane Eliason won the 100-backstroke for the second consecutive week, tapping in a time of 50.20. Malul took the 100-breaststroke in a time of 54.80 and junior Grant Nelson captured the top spot in the 200-fly in 1:50.81. The Wildcats took the top three places in the 50-free, led by Grobbelaar's 20.82 heading into the diving break.

On the boards, sophomore Justin Smith claimed first on the one-meter earning a 321.23 score. McGinnis and classmate Alex Forbes took 1-2 in the 100-free to keep the pace up for the Wildcats. Eliason topped the field in the 200-back for his second win of the day, and second double-win meet in as many weeks. Junior Will Vietti clocked in first in the 200-breast in a time of 2:03.55. Iemmola won his first career event when he took first in the 1000-free in a time of 4:38.96.

On the women's side, much like the men the women took an early lead when the 200-medley relay team comprised of juniors Jill Southerlan, Heather Bradford, Lauren Willis and sophomore Lindsay Myhre clocked in a time of 1:42.93.

Junior Jenny Bradford won the first individual event for the Wildcats on the afternoon in the 200-free in a time of 1:49.64. Freshman Chatham Penrod and Southerlan placed 1-2 in the 100-back in times of 57.65 and 58.30, respectively.

Freshman Megan Pulskamp kept Kentucky out in front when she topped the field in the 200-fly in a time of 2:02.82. Willis and Heather Bradford tapped in first and second, respectively, in the 50-free in times of 23.37 and 23.38.

Kentucky's female divers swept the one-meter board for the second consecutive weekend. Junior Kari Retrum took first with an astounding score of 319.50. Seniors Taryn Ignacio and Joey Brown took second and third, respectively.

Jenny Bradford took her second event of the day, and Willis took second in the 100-free. Penrod followed suit with a win in the 200-back in a time of 2:04.49. Sophomore Haleigh Kerns tapped in first in the 500-free in a time of 5:01.60 to stretch the Wildcats' lead. Jenny Bradford eared the trifecta, with a third win on the day in the 100-fly, as her sister Heather took second.

On the three-meter board, Brown the reigning SEC Female Diver of the Week earned her third win in two weeks, when she won the three-meter event. Ignacio placed second while Retrum took third for the complete sweep in diving. Brown set her second Lancaster Aquatic Center record, as she set the record on the one-meter last week, this week's three-meter score of 345.98 topped Ignacio's previous record of 316.60 set in 2005. Ignacio attempted to top her own teammate as she scored a 343.96. Retrum wasn't far behind as she scored a 343.28.

Kentucky had a senior day recognition ceremony prior to the start of the meet as they honored their four seniors: Joey Brown, Nikia Deveaux, Taryn Ignacio and Eric Weber.

The Wildcats return to the pool on Friday to conclude dual meet season when they travel to Cincinnati.

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