Arkansas Swimming and Diving Fact Sheet #11
This week
Arkansas swimming and diving travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for the Southeastern Conference Championships Feb. 20-23.
Last time out
Arkansas dropped a double-dual meet against No. 5 Auburn and No. 22 Florida State in Auburn, Ala., on Feb. 9.
Carr leads the way
In the Lady’Backs’ last meet, junior Stephanie Carr won the 1,000 freestyle (9:56.42) by over five seconds and had a runner-up finish in the 500 free (4:53.36) to lead the team.
Scouting the SEC Championships
Arkansas has a tough battle ahead of them at SEC’s, competing against some of the best programs in the nation. Georgia is ranked No. 1, Florida is No. 3, Auburn is No. 5, Tennessee is No. 7 and LSU is No. 17.
2007 SEC Championships
The Lady’Backs finished 9th last year with 143 points and look to make a move and improve their standing in this year’s championships. Gregory had the best finish for Arkansas placing 12th in the 200 butterfly. Elizabeth Engs also touched in 15th in the 400 individual medley.
Palmer breaks school record
Junior diver Madison Palmer set a school record with a win on the one-meter springboard on Jan. 19. She had a personal-best score of 318.82. Palmer’s score on the one meter is first in the SEC.
No. 25 Arkansas
The Lady Razorbacks joined the top 25 for the first time in 16 years on Jan. 18. The last swimming and diving squad to be ranked in the top 25 was the 1991-92 team who made it as high as No. 13. The best ranking ever achieved by the program was 11th in 1990.
Lady’Backs still getting votes
Although Arkansas fell out of the top 25, they are still receiving votes, accumulating 38 in the last poll on Feb. 15.
Arkansas with six wins
The Lady’Backs have a 6-5 overall record and are 1-3 in the SEC. Six wins is the most the program has had since 2001-02 when Arkansas finished 8-4 in dual meets.
Missouri mix-up
Arkansas’ 151-149 win over Missouri was overturned recently. There was an error in the meet management. A mistake was made in the awarding of third place in the 200 medley relay to Arkansas and that it should have been awarded to Mizzou. As a result, Mizzou received two points and two points were taken away from Arkansas, awarding the team victory to the Tigers.
What a tough schedule
Five of Arkansas’ dual-meet opponents this season are ranked in the College Swimming Coaches Association of America Top 25. Auburn (5), Georgia (1), Florida (3), Missouri (21) and Florida State (22) sit amidst the nation’s best. California (8), Minnesota (9), Tennessee (7), Penn State (13) and Indiana (19), five teams Arkansas competed against at the Hoosierland Open Invitational, are also ranked.
Kastes boasts 10 wins
Katie Kastes leads the Lady’Backs with 10 wins this season. Also tallying individual victories for Arkansas is Palmer with eight, Carr and Marks with seven, Gregory with four, Lynette Ng with three, freshman Ashley Largo with two and Jackson, McGraw, Silver and Sutphen with one.
Bringing her “A” game
Kastes is the only Lady’Back with an NCAA automatic qualifying time. Her time of 1:58.98 in the 200 fly qualifies her for the NCAA Championships in March.
Who’s getting B’s?
Arkansas accumulated 20 NCAA “B” Cuts this season. Kastes has eight, Carr owns five, Totten, Largo and Gregory earned two and Marks touched in with one.
Current Lady’Backs in the top five
Kastes revamped the top five spots in the 200 fly with her name and times of 1:59.58, 1:59.58, 2:00.56, 2:01.43 and 2:01.63. She also holds the top spot in the 100 fly with a 55.05 and the 400 IM with a 4:20.70. Palmer holds the school record in one meter diving with a score of 318.83. Palmer is also third in three-meter diving with a score of 336.15. Gregory holds the second (55.18), third (55.20) and fifth slots (55.49) in the 100 fly. Carr is second, third and fourth in the 1,000 free with a 9:54.08, a 9:56.42 and a 10:00.09, and third in the 1,650 free with a 16:24.61. Marks notched the fifth position in the 400 IM with a time of 4:24.85.
Totten wins three medals at the Southeast Asian Games
Erica Totten earned a silver medal and broke the Philippians’ national record in the 200-meter butterfly with a personal-best time of 2:16.79 at the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand in December. Totten took bronze medals in the 200-meter freestyle and the 4×100 free relay.
Katie Kastes, Freshman of the Week – Nov. 20
Kastes broke three school records, had an NCAA “A” cut time and three “B” cuts. She finished second in the 200 fly, first in prelims. Both times were school records. Her prelim time of 1:58.98 stands as the record. Kastes placed third in the 400 IM with a time of 4:20.70, setting another school record. Her time is fifth in the SEC. Kastes’ swam the100 fly time in 55.05, posting her third school record.
Madison Palmer, Diver of the Week – Nov. 20
Palmer placed third on the three meter with a 283.20 after finishing first in both the prelims and the semis. Her best score was 284.30 in the prelims. She finished third on the one meter, recording a season best of 287.90. Palmer also had a career-best score of 210.60 on the platform with a sixth-place finish.
That was a close one
Arkansas’ 150.5-149.5 triumph against Kansas marks one of the closest wins in school history. The only other one-point win came during the 1983-84 season against Missouri when the Lady’Backs defeated the Tigers 57-56.
Altitude time conversions
All of the times from Arkansas’ meet at Denver were 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. .10 seconds were taken off for 100-yard events, 1.2 for 200 yards, 5.0 for 400-500 yards and 20.0 seconds for 1,650 yards.
Arkansas goes 2-for-3 in SEC weekly awards
Palmer earned SEC Diver of the Week honors and Ka. Kastes earned Freshman of the Week honors Tuesday, Oct. 16. The duo went 6-for-6 in the events they competed, contributing 56 points to Arkansas’ 210 team total against the Mean Green. Palmer and Kastes marked the first time two Lady’Backs won SEC swimming and diving honors in the same week.
Madison Palmer, SEC Diver of the Week – Week 1
Palmer, an Olathe, Kan., native, qualified for the NCAA Zone meet on both the one- and three-meter springboards Oct. 12. Palmer swept the diving events, winning the one meter with a score of 283.70, eight points shy of her career best, and placing first on the three meter with a 286.85.
Katie Kastes, SEC Freshman of the Week – Week 1
In Kastes’ first competition as a Lady’Back, she broke the school record, earned a ‘B’ cut time and life-time best time of 2:01.63 with a first-place finish in the 200 butterfly. She beat her nearest opponent by almost three seconds. The Palm Harbor, Fla., product also touched in first in the 100 fly with a time of 56.26 to sweep the butterfly events. She was not done there, winning the 200 individual medley by almost two seconds with another personal-best time of 2:05.90 before she anchored the 200-freestyle relay squad to a victory.
2007-08 Preview
Leading the 13 returning Lady’Backs are this year’s seniors, Emily Gregory, Katie McGraw and Tifanie Silver. Joining the roster are 12 newcomers including all-Americans, state champions and U.S. Olympic Trials qualifiers.
CollegeSwimming.com says…
The 2007-08 recruiting class was ranked fifth in the nation by CollegeSwimming.com. Four incoming freshman, Marks, Largo, Kastes and Totten, were named to the CollegeSwimming.com Top 100 Recruits list.
