Men’s and Women’s Swimming Recap 11

Kentucky proved to be too much for the SIUC men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams as both of the Saluki squads fell to a well-prepared University of Kentucky Friday night in Lexington.

The men’s team provided a good showing but suffered a hard loss to a strong Kentucky team, while the women’s team ran into a red-hot Kentucky squad.

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Men’s swimming coach Rick Walker said Kentucky was ready for the Salukis’ competition.

Kentucky was completely prepared for us, Walker said. If that isn’t the biggest sign of respect, I don’t know what is.

The Saluki men were defeated by a score of 142-94, but Walker said the meet was much closer than the score indicated.

The men’s team is now 1-1 for the year. The Salukis defeated Drury College 137-104, Oct. 25. in Carbondale.

The Salukis started the meet off with a victory by the 200-meter medley squad with a time of 1 minute and 35.49 seconds.

The Salukis had only one individual winner in Corne Prozesky, who won the 200-meter breast stroke (2:06.64).

The men’s top diver, Alex Wright, finished in second place in the 1-meter competition (203.25) and second place in the 3-meter competition (289.5). The men’s diving competition featured four divers.

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Women’s coach Mark Kluemper said the Salukis competed against a much-improved team that had tasted success recently.

Kentucky swam much better Friday night, Kluemper said. It was just a case of us running into a really hot team.

Melanie Williams was the lone individual winner for the Salukis with a first-place finish in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:28.66).

Kluemper said the 136-92 defeat was a good learning experience for his young team.

For a lot of the girls, it was the first time on the road, Kluemper said. It was a little bit of a discouraging weekend, but it is something the team will learn from.

The women’s team is now 1-2 for the season, with its victory coming at home against Drury College 136-105 Oct. 25.

Top women’s diver Karla Gerzema placed second in the 1-meter competition (250.50) and finished in third place in the 3-meter competition (247.20). The women’s diving competition featured six divers.

The men’s and women’s swimming and diving team will compete Friday against the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo.