WHITE DEFEATS ORANGE IN DUAL MEET EXHIBITION, 163-134

Oct. 14, 2005

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee Lady Vol Swimming and Diving team put on an impressive display in the intrasquad Orange and White dual meet on Friday. In an entertaining affair, Team White defeated Team Orange, 163-134.

"I'm happy. We had some very consistent performances in every event," Lady Vol head swimming coach Matt Kredich said. "I thought we had some great races, the competitive aspect of it was impressive. There are some things that we need to work on, having a little bit better of focus throughout the competition, and we need to sharpen our turns. All that stuff is not unexpected, however.

"We had a very heavy work load this week and everyone was carrying some fatigue, but that really did not show. I thought the ladies were tough and responded to that challenge well."

Entering the 2005-06 season, Kredich and Assistant Coach Jennifer Arndt have implemented a new training process, and the results are already showing. There were 10 events which were held on Friday that were also a part of last year's Orange and White meet. In seven of those, the winning time this year tops the victorious clocking from a year ago.

The meet commenced with the 200y medley relay. Team White jumped out to the early advantage that it would never relinquish by way of winning the event. The quartet of Jacque Fessel (Cincinnati, Ohio), Tiffany Clay (Mason, Ohio), Carly Mathes (Kettering, Ohio ) and Abbi Terveer (Lima, Ohio) touched the wall in 1:45.09 to pick up11 points. Orange A consisting of Megan Tomes (Cincinnati, Ohio), Sarah McCall (Knoxville, Tenn.), Christine Magnuson (Tinley Park, Ill.) and Katie Gehring (Punta Gorda, Fla.) snared runner-up honors in 1:46.46. Heading into the 1000y free White led, 11-6.

Team White extended its margin to 22-13 after the 1000y free concluded, behind freshman Sam Maccherola's (Mount Airy, Md.) strong performance. She touched in 10:27.36, more than 13 seconds ahead of junior Misty Cain (Marietta, Ga.) who fashioned a final reading of 10:40.40. Mary Kirk Pollard (Charlotte, N.C.) claimed third with Kelly Finley (Holland, Pa.) earning fourth.

Next in the 200y freestyle, newcomer Mathes was not intimidated by Magnuson, a returning All-American, as she recorded a 1:53.04 time to hold off the sophomore by less than a second. Maccherola swam well as well, taking third while Laura Fehrman (St. Charles, Ill.) and Betsy Lange (Hinsdale, Ill.) finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Mathes' effort put the score at 36-18 with the backstrokers next.

A pair of All-Americans put on a good show in the 100y back, as Tomes (56.09) held off Fessel (56.78) by the narrowest of margin. Sophomore Danyelle Vincent (Rohnert Park, Calif.) took third, with Maria Jugan (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Ashley Yeager (Mechanicsburrg, Pa.) close behind.

The score stood 43-30 in favor of Team White as focus switched to the 100y breaststroke. All-American Clay was in fine form, as she won by more than two seconds. Teammate Sallye Hartman (Gates, Tenn.) earned runner-up honors, while freshman McCall took third. The dominating effort allowed the White Squad to maintain its advantage, 58-34.

In the 200y butterfly, senior Betsy Brockman (Batavia, Ohio) utilized solid technique in cruising her way to the event crown. Brockman registered a clocking of 2:08.62, while second-place finisher Elizabeth Christy (Indianapolis, Ind.) stopped the timer at 2:11.64. The White squad was still in control, as the team totals stood 70-41.

The sprinters then hit the water for the 50y free. In a tightly-contested race, Gehring edged Terveer by a mere 12 tenths of a second. Brittany Nauta (Tampa, Fla.) was close behind in third place.

The divers then took center stage for the one-meter competition. Lauren LeRoy (Oshkosh, Wis.) won the second straight event for Team Orange with an impressive showing. The sophomore tallied a sum of 308.92, while Brittany Fulmer (Maryville, Tenn.) netted second at 278.70. With eight events remaining, the score was 82-66.

"I was pleased. It was a different format than the regular season, but in general I was happy with the overall effort," Diving coach Dave Parrington said. "It gave us some insight into what we need to work on for next week and throughout the year, but that is the purpose of today. I felt like the divers as a group displayed a positive attitude throughout."

With action back out of the well and into the main pool, Terveer regained the momentum for White by way of a first-place finish in the 100y free. She touched in 52.89 to eclipse Chisty (52.99). Nauta finished third, with Gehring and Ashley Quinn (Knoxville, Tenn.) taking fourth and fifth, respectively.

In the 200y back, Fessel showed no signs of rust. The victorious effort, coming 2:05.83, was the second consecutive for the White squad. Vincent took third with Yeager on her heels in fourth.

Clay made it a clean sweep of the breaststroke, claiming the 200y version with relative ease. The readout of 2:22.78 was more than four seconds quicker than Brockman, who snared second. More importantly, it pushed the White lead to a 119-86 lead with only five events remaining.

Tomes demonstrated her versatility in the 500y free, turning in a tremendous effort by finishing in 4:56.48 in winning her second title on the day. Maccherola earned second with Mathes, Cain and Kirk Pollard rounding out the top five.

Up next was the 100y fly, which was perhaps the most entertaining event on the day. In a three-swimmer race down the stretch, Fessel held off Magnuson and Lange. Fessel finished in 58.49 with Magnuson touching at 58.63 and Lange at 59.08.

Focus then returned to the divers, where Fulmer performed admirably. The junior claimed the three-meter crown by way of compiling a total of 338.77. LeRoy was close behind with a score of 330.45 With two events left, White had a commanding 143-118 lead.

Mathes picked up her second win on the day, swimming free and easy in the 200y IM en route to a final clocking of 2:08.57. McCall finished second while Brockman earned third.

The final event on the slate was the 400y freestyle relay. The group from Team Orange of Gehring, Nauta, Christy and Tomes turned in a strong effort for the win. They finished in 3:31.47.

Tennessee returns to action as it officially begins the season by traveling to Louisville on Oct. 21 for a 4 p.m. tilt.