University of Tennessee Athletics
Shorthanded Lady Vols Finish Runner-up at UT Invite
November 20, 2010 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Nov. 20, 2010
By Todd Mounce, Media Relations Graduate Assistant
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Despite being without the services of 13 student-athletes on the final day, the 11th ranked Lady Vol swimming and diving squad used a total team effort to finish second at the Tennessee Invitational on Saturday at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatics Center.
UT was never able to surpass Virginia Tech, who led after every day and won the event with 1,118 points. Over the course of the three days, the Big Orange won two diving events, three individual swimming events and a relay to finish runner-up with 918 points. Kentucky finished third with a score of 850, while Alabama rounded out the event with 745 points.
Freshman Lindsay Gendron continues to be a force in pool, setting a new AJIAC pool record in the 1650y free with a first-place clocking of 16:09.02. The Bloomington, Ill., native broke the previous record by nine-tenths of a second. The NCAA B-cut time also ranks sixth on UT's top performance list and third on the Lady Vol performers list.
Senior Aleksa Akerfelds touched in at 16:40.52 in the event, which is also a B-cut time, to grab fourth.
The Lady Vols ended the meet on a positive note as junior Jenny Connolly, sophomore Kelsey Floyd, freshman Mary Kate McNeilis and Gendron won the 400y free relay with a B-cut time of 3:22.02. The victory came in the last event of the meet and was the first relay triumph for UT at the invite.
In the 100y free, Gendron and Connolly had the two fastest marks for the Orange and White. Gendron's time of 50.67 seconds was good for fifth, while Connolly was two spots behind in seventh with a clocking of 51.09. Kayla Sergesketter of Kentucky recorded the best time in the event, touching in at 49.87 seconds.
"We had a couple of outstanding miles from Lindsay and Aleksa, which set the tone for the rest of the evening," said Lady Vol Head Swimming Coach Matt Kredich. "It was also really nice to finish the evening with a win the 400y free relay."
Martina Moravcikova, a senior, now has B-cut times in the 100y and 200y breasts after recording a third-place time of 2:15.77 in the 200y event. The Prague, Czech Republic, native swam a B-cut time in the 100y breast in the first dual of the season against Arkansas and has competed in both events at the NCAA Championships the past three seasons. Alabama's Kate Shannon Gray nabbed the top spot with a time of 2:13.89.
Floyd was the only Big Orange swimmer in the 200y fly finals and touched in at 2:01.66 to claim fourth. The Lexington, Ky., native also added a team-best, fourth-place clocking of 2:00.67 in the 200y back.
Suzanne Schwee of Kentucky won the 200y fly in pool record fashion with a time of 1:58.62. Over the course of the three-day event, eight new pool records were set. Schwee's teammate, Chatham Penrod won the 200y back after touching in at 1:58.78.
"I feel great about the meet as a whole," Kredich said. "Our goal was to get a lot of swims in, try to learn from our races and apply what we learned to the finals. Once we get some people healthy, I think we are going to be a very strong team."
The Orange and White divers made their debut on the platform and senior Jill Pierce was UT's top finisher with a score of 232.10. Sophomore Skye Sanders also competed on the platform, claiming ninth with a tally of 174.20. Cara Murnan of Virgina Tech garnered the top score of 246.20 to win the event.
"I'm really happy with Jill's performance," said UT Head Diving Coach Dave Parrington. "She dove really tough. She showed some great improvement and it was a great way to cap off the weekend."
The team is off until the New Year, as the divers return to the AJIAC to host the Tennessee Diving Invitational over Jan. 3-5. Dual meet competition resumes on Jan. 8 when No. 9 Virginia invades Rocky Top.
