Knight Outperforms 3-Meter Field, Men’s Relay is Fourth Fastest in Nation
AUSTIN, Texas – In the toughest test of the season, the No. 17/14 University of Kentucky swimming and diving program fell to perennial No. 2/8 Texas at the site of the 2019 NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas, on Friday afternoon.
The No. 14 women’s team lost to No. 8 Texas, 172-127, and moves to a 4-1 record. The No. 17 men dropped to No. 2 Texas, 179-109, and are 2-2 on the season.
“I thought we competed against such an incredible program in Texas,” said head coach Lars Jorgensen. “They’re a traditional national power and they displayed that today. Our girls made it a good meet for a while, though we ran out of steam at the end. Bailey Bonnett had outstanding performances. I was pleased with Kaitlynn Wheeler stepping up. Kyndal Knight did great on the 3-meter board. We had to fire on all cylinders in order to win, and we came up a bit short toward the end.
“For the men’s team, Peter Wetzlar was sensational. He did great, and the last relay going 2:56.56 in the 400-yard freestyle relay is outstanding. Peter led the men’s team today, his lead off in the relay was outstanding. He’s a great swimmer.”
Sophomore Kyndal Knight outperformed the women’s 3-meter springboard field for the third straight time this season to finish in first place on 343.95 points. Unbeaten on that discipline this season, her score marks a career best on the 3m board, just seven days removed from accomplishing that same feat against Ohio and South Carolina (334.20) on Oct. 18.
Also making headlines on Friday was the men’s 400-yard freestyle relay team when they recorded the fourth-fastest time in the nation in 2:56.56. Led by senior Peter Wetzlar (43.86), followed by senior John Mitchell (44.38), then sophomore Lukas Kraft (44.58) and with senior Jason Head (43.74) closing the deal, the foursome earned second place, less than half a second behind Texas.
The Kentucky women earned a season-best time in the opening race, recording a 1:39.69 in the 200-yard medley relay to finish second. Freshman Caitlin Brooks led off the team with the fastest lead leg among the field for the third straight time this season, notching a 24.70 in the backstroke split. The foursome was just two tenths of a second from defeating Texas in the opening race. Notable, the Kentucky “B” relay team took third place in the event in 1:42.90, adding a couple extra points toward the team’s score.
Two-time SEC Freshman of the Week, Brooks set a new season best in the 100-yard backstroke for the third straight meet, finishing second in 53.02, the sixth-fastest time in the nation.
Junior Bailey Bonnett recorded Kentucky’s first event win of the evening, meanwhile leading two of her teammates to second- and third- place finishes in the 100-yard breaststroke. Bonnett posted a season-best 1:01.75 in the event to top the field. Freshman Gillian Davey also notched a season-best time in 1:02.71 to finish in second, while junior Jaclyn Hill recorded a 1:04. 26 to finish in third.
In that same order, the same threesome also took first, second and third place in the 200-yard breaststroke. Bonnett collected first in 2:12.15, Davey took second in 2:12.74 and Hill settled in third place on a timestamp of 2:17.36. Bonnet’s and Davey’s times are season bests.
On the men’s side, senior Wyatt Amdor took second place in the 100-yard breaststroke on his second-best time of the season in 55.77.
Kentucky had a few solid performances in the 200-yard butterfly. On the women’s side, sophomore Izzy Gati took second in 1:59.34, followed by senior Asia Seidt who took third in 1:59.46. Both times were season-best marks. On the men’s side, sophomore standout Mason Wilby grabbed himself a second-place finish, recording a season-best 1:47.78 in the men’s 200-yard butterfly, dropping nearly a full second off his season-opener time on Oct. 9.
Seidt added two first-place finishes to her esteemed resume, winning the 200-yard backstroke and the 100-yard butterfly fields. Topping the 200 backstroke field on a season-best 1:56.18, it marks the 11th-fastest time in the nation. The Louisville native also collected gold in the 100-yard butterfly on a season-best 54.22.
Peter Wetzlar recorded a season-best time in the 100-yard freestyle, earning second place in 44.15, the 10th fastest time in the nation. However, his lead-off split in the 400-yard freestyle relay (43.86) ranks as the seventh-fastest time. The Zimbabwean is ranked in the nation’s top 10 in both the 50- and 100- yard freestyle after the dual meet.
The Kentucky men forced a pair of 1-2-3 sweeps in the dual meet, starting with the 200-yard backstroke. Senior Alex Taylor led the field in 1:49.57, followed by senior John Mitchell in 1:49.87 and senior Connor Blandford forced a third-place finish in 1:50.65.
Later in the meet, junior Hank Siefert led the men’s team in the 500-yard freestyle on a timestamp of 4:28.43. Freshman Jakob Clark followed in 4:34.83, while senior Trent Lakes took third in 4:40.43.
Next on the Schedule
The Kentucky swimming and diving program will return to Lancaster Aquatic Center to host Missouri, N.C. State and Arkansas, Nov. 7-8.
For the latest on the Kentucky swimming and diving program, follow @UKSwimDive on Twitter and on Instagram, on Facebook and on the web at UKathletics.com.
