Swimming and Diving Fact Sheet #4

This weekThe University of Arkansas swimming and diving team travels to Lawrence, Kan., Thursday to face the Jayhawks at 4 p.m.
Last time outThe 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.
Taking care of businessSwimming in Denver 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.
Altitude time conversionsAll of the times from Saturday’s meet 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.
Marks sets school record…almostFreshman Jamie Marks dominated the 400 IM Saturday finishing first by over nine seconds. Her converted time of 4:19.85 would have been good enough for a new school record. She did earn the fourth spot in the school records with her original time of 4:24.85.
Palmer 4-for-4 on the yearPalmer has won every event she competed in this season. The Olathe, Kan., native swept the diving events in week one and went on to earn SEC Diver of the Week honors. Palmer took top honors on both springboards this past weekend with a score of 265.65 on the one meter and 297.75 on the three meter.
Arkansas dominates distanceArkansas dominated the 500 and 1,650 freestyles. Freshmen Ashley Largo (17:09.48), 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.
Scouting KansasThe Jayhawks return 24 letterwinners from a 2006-07 squad that finished 3rd in the Big12 and had a dual record of 6-1. Kansas is 1-1 on the year, defeating Northern Iowa and falling to Missouri. Kansas leads the all-time series 15-7.
Our last meetingThe Lady’Backs dropped their last meet against Kansas 133-163 on Jan. 29, 2005. Despite the loss, Arkansas won nine events. Whitney Lynn and Emily Gregory led the Lady’Backs as they both won two individual events. Lynn won the 500 and 1,000 freestyle. Gregory took first place in the 100 and 200 butterfly.
Kastes sets school recordKa. Kastes’ time of 2:01.63 on Oct. 12 earned her the new Arkansas school record in the 200 fly. Kastes beat the previous 200-fly record set by current Lady’Back Emily Gregory (2:02.88) in February 2007.
Current Lady’Backs in the top fiveKa. Kastes has the top spot in the 200 fly with a time of 2:01.63. Largo sits third in the 1,000 free with a time of 10:01.65. Marks notched the fourth position in the 400 IM with a time of 4:24.85. Palmer is fifth in the record book in one meter diving with a score of 295.10 that she earned last season. Gregory holds the first, third, fourth and fifth spots in the 100 fly, and the second and third spots in the 200 fly.
What a tough scheduleFive of Arkansas’ dual-meet opponents this season are ranked in the top 25. Auburn (1), Georgia (5), Florida (7), Missouri (20) and Florida State (21) sit amidst the nation’s best. Indiana, who Arkansas competes against at the Indiana Open Nov. 15-17, is ranked 23rd.
Arkansas goes 2-for-3 in SEC weekly awardsPalmer earned Southeastern Conference 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 1Palmer, 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 1In 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 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.
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.