University of Tennessee Athletics
LADY VOL WATER WARRIORS DOMINATE WILDCATS
October 25, 2002 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Oct. 25, 2002
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
The University of Tennessee women's swimming and diving team kicked off its regular season in triumphant fashion, defeating SEC rival Kentucky 143-99 on Friday at the Student Aquatic Center.
With the one-meter springboard competition being held prior to the start of swimming events, the Lady Vols jumped out to a 14-5 lead and never looked back.
A sweep of three consecutive events allowed the Lady Vols to gain a 94-37 advantage after event seven of the 13-event meet.
"I've got to say that I'm really pleased to start of the season like this," UT Head Coach Dan Colella said. "Graciela Breece-Rodriguez, Jacque Fessel and Bethany Hall all had breakthrough swims for the first meet of the season. I'm pleased with the intensity we showed and we are excited heading into the LSU meet next week."
Freshman Noelle Bassi brought the Tennessee crowd to its feet by leading a dominating performance by the Lady Vols in the 200y fly. The Franklin Lakes, N.J., native clocked a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 2:01.18 to lead the UT sweep, with freshman Breece-Rodriguez (Boulder, Colo.) placing second and freshman Betsy Brockman (Batavia, Ohio) in third. Bassi's time in the 200y fly lands her in fifth place in program history for the event.
UT widened its lead to 62-31 over the Wildcats with a sweep of the 50y free. Junior Taryn Ternent (Edenvale, South Africa), swimming in her first meet for Tennessee after transferring from Washington State, won the event in a time of 24.59. Completing the 1-2-3 sweep for UT were freshman Abbi Terveer (Lima, Ohio) in second and sophomore Jessica Blevins (Bluefield, W. Va.) in third. Ternent also placed second in the 100y free with a clocking of 53.66.
Another sweep by Tennessee in the 200y IM increased its lead to 78-34. Freshman Betsy Brockman claimed victory with a clocking of 2:07.28, and was joined in the 1-2-3 effort by Breece-Rodriguez in second and freshman Randi Vogel (Maineville, Ohio) in third.
Freshman Kara Boland played a key role in Tennessee's victory over the Wildcats, claiming victory in two events. The Lafayette Hill, Pa. native won the 1000y free with a time of 10:09.09 and the 500y free in 4:58.67 in her first collegiate meet.
Other strong individual performances for the Lady Vols came from Fessel and Hall. Fessel, a freshman from Cincinnati, Ohio, won the 200y back with a time of 2:02.56. Hall, a senior co-captain from Knoxville, helped widen the UT lead early with a second-place clocking of 1:52.81 in the 200y free.
The Lady Vols opened the meet on a high note, taking the top two spots in the 400y medley relay. UT's quartet of Fessel, Bassi, Hall and freshman Danielle Lundy claimed victory with a time of 3:51.24.
In addition to their success in the pool, the Lady Vols proved to be equally dominant on the boards.
"For our first meet out, we had an extremely positive experience, as Kentucky is always a tough competitor," UT Diving Coach Dave Parrington said. "Lauryn McCalley had a great double win. She performed a two and a half pike on the three-meter, which is a new dive for her and crucial for her future success."
McCalley claimed both the one- and three-meter springboard events for Tennessee. The Moultrie, Ga., native recorded a score of 281.03 on the one-meter and 302.40 on the three-meter, both of which are NCAA Zone qualifying standards. Junior Kylee Wells (Russiaville, Ind.) also recorded a zone qualifying mark when she totaled 255.30 to place second on the one-meter.
"I was happy with this being the first meet of the year," McCalley said. "But I still have a lot of work to do."
The Tennessee victory pushes the Lady Vols' record to 19-2 all-time versus Kentucky.
Next week, the Lady Vols head to Baton Rouge, La., to face another foe from the SEC when they square off against LSU on Saturday, Nov. 2.
