Arkansas swimming and diving takes two

DENVER, COLO. – The University of Arkansas swimming and diving team took two wins in its double-dual meet Saturday in Denver, Colo. Senior Emily Gregory and junior Madison Palmer won two events each to lead the Lady Razorbacks over Denver 167-130 and Utah 176-121, improving their record to 3-1. “We’re really excited about coming away with two wins today,” said head coach Jeff Poppell. “Everyone did fantastic.” Swimming the meet at an altitude of over 5,000 feet, the Lady’Backs won seven events and had such a commanding lead that they exhibitioned the last two events. Gregory swept the butterfly events, while Palmer took top honors on both the one- and three-meter springboards. Arkansas went 1-2-3 in the 500 and 1,650 freestyles. The Lady’Backs went 1-2 in the 200 free, 200 fly and one-meter diving, and would have gone 1-2-3-4 in the 400 individual medley without the exhibitions. “We really felt like the team did a great job overcoming and adapting to the change in altitude and we’re really proud of both the swimmers and divers,”said Poppell. In the butterfly events, Gregory’s wins came in 56.50 in the 100 fly and 2:04.92 in the 200 fly. Freshman Erica Totten touched in second in the 200 fly with a 2:06.56 and fourth in the 100 fly with a 58.81. For the second meet in a row, Palmer swept the diving events with a score of 265.65 on the one meter and a 297.75 on the three meter, just one point away from her career best. Junior Kellyn Williams placed second on the two meter with a season-best 242, while junior Hilarie Wilson also scored a season-best 229.85, placing third on the three meter. Arkansas dominated the 500 and 1,650 freestyles. Freshmen Ashley Largo (17:09.48), Jamie Marks (17:15.81) and Shara Sutphen (17:47.74) took the top three spots in the 1,650 free. Junior Stephanie Carr (4:59.12), Largo (5:05.63) and freshman Brittany Kimmitt (5:09.17) touched in first, second and third, respectively, in the 500 free. Freshman Katie Kastes earned her fourth win of the season in the 200 free with a time of 1:52.07. Carr finished just behind her with a 1:54.03. In the 400 IM, Marks earned a top-5 spot in the school records with a time of 4:24.85. She was followed by Kastes (4:33.95), junior Elizabeth Engs (4:34.55) and Totten (4:36.09). Marks touched in second in the 200 breaststroke with a career-best 2:22.21. Engs turned in a season-best 2:24.27 with a third-place finish. Kimmitt, freshman Erin Neumann and junior Summer Jackson placed 2-3-4 in the 100 breast. The Lady’Backs turned in two personal-best times and one season-best time in the 50 free. Sophomore Lynette Ng finished second with a career-best 24.27. Senior Katie McGraw had a season-best 25.13 and freshman Gina Bargiachi touched in with an individual-best time of 27.83. Ng also had a career-best time of 58.58 with a second-place finish in the 100 backstroke. All of the times from Saturday’s meet will be adjusted due to the level of altitude. According to the NCAA, it allows times achieved at an altitude of 3,000 feet or higher to be converted to faster times. Arkansas returns to the pool to take on Kansas Thursday, Nov. 1 at 4 p.m. in Lawrence, Kan. For more information about Arkansas swimming and diving, please log on to LADYBACKS.COM.