Swimming and Diving Fact Sheet #2

This weekThe University of Arkansas swimming and diving team officially begins the 2007-08 season with a double-dual meet against Georgia and North Texas, Friday, Oct. 12, at 2 a.m. inside the Arkansas Natatorium.
Last time outThe Lady Razorbacks held the Red-White meet last Saturday in preparation for this week’s first regular season meet. In the intrasquad competition, the red team defeated the white team 121, 82. The red team took first-place finishes in nine of the eleven events. Junior Summer Jackson, freshman Katie Kastes and junior Madison Palmer paced the red team with two wins apiece. Sophomore Lynette Ng and freshman Ashley Largo touched in first in two events for the white team.
In Poppell’s Words… (On the Red-White meet)“The ladies did a fantastic job standing up and competing against their teammates today. We’ve put in a very solid week of training this week. I know the girls are pretty broken down; however, they did a great job competing as a supplement to our training.”
2007-08 PreviewLeading 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.
Look who’s backArkansas returns three seniors to this year’s squad, including Emily Gregory (Burnsville, Minn.), Katie McGraw (Keswick, Va.) and Tifanie Silver (Honolulu, Hawaii). Also returning are juniors Stephanie Carr (Jacksonville, Fla.), Elizabeth Engs (Cambridge, Ontario), Emily Fletcher (Kingwood, Texas), Summer Jackson (Sequim, Wash.), Dashya Kimmel (Bentonville, Ark.), Madison Palmer (Olathe, Kan.), Macey Webb (Columbia, Tenn.), Kellyn Williams (Manhattan, Kan.) and Hilarie Wilson (St. Louis, Mo.). Rounding out the 2007-08 returners is sophomore Allison Chinn.
Swimming and diving roster doublesThis year’s team is almost two times the size of last year’s team, welcoming 12 newcomers. Joining the 2007-08 Lady’Back squad is Gina Bargiachi (Memphis, Tenn.), Jessie Clark (St. Louis, Mo.), Megan Haskins (Orlando, Fla.), Katie C. Kastes (Palm Harbor, Fla.), Kylie A. Kastes (Palm Harbor, Fla.), Brittany Kimmitt (Germantown, Wis.), Ashley Largo (Sarasota, Fla.), Jamie L. Marks (Beesley’s Point, N.J.), Erin Neumann (Chesterfield, Mo.), Lynette Ng (Singapore), Shara Sutphen (Chesterfield, Mo.) and Erica Totten (Jacksonville, Fla.).
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.Also new to Arkansas swimming and divingJosh Morgan enters his first year with the Lady’Backs as the director of swimming and diving operations. Morgan’s primary team responsibilities include video editing and handling the day-to-day office duties for head coach Jeff Poppell.
In the record bookSenior Emily Gregory enters the 2007-08 season holding the top spots in the 100 and 200 fly in the Arkansas record book. Gregory set the school record in the 100 fly in 2005 with a time of 55.20. In 2007, Gregory bettered her record in the 200 fly with a time of 2:02.80.
Current Lady’Backs in the top fiveJunior Madison Palmer notched the fifth spot in the record book in one meter diving last season with a score of 295.10. Gregory holds the third, fourth and fifth spots in the 100 fly, and the second and fifth spots in the 200 fly.
2006-07 RecapArkansas finished the regular season 4-4 in dual meets, the most wins the program has seen since the 2002-03 season when the Lady’Backs finished 5-5. The Lady’Backs also posted 89 personal best performances.