Kentucky Sweeps Diving Events in Day One of Quad Meet
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 14 University of Kentucky women’s swimming and diving team leads Arkansas, 129-36, through the first 18 events of the 34-event quad meet featuring Arkansas, No. 4/9 Missouri and No. 3/7 NC State. The two-day meet will resume on Friday at 10 a.m. inside the Lancaster Aquatic Center.
Sophomore Kyndal Knight continued her winning ways on Thursday afternoon, defeating the 14-person 1-meter field with a score of 284.30 points. She has now won six of her seven springboard events this season and three of her four 1-meter performances. Knight is expected to compete in the 3-meter event on Friday morning, which she is undefeated in this season.
For the No. 17 Kentucky men, sophomore Danny Zhang dominated the eight-person 3-meter field, earning first place with 405.65 points and 67.3 points more than the second-place showing. It marked Zhang’s first six-dive set of the season.
Opening the meet with the 200-yard freestyle relay, the Kentucky men recorded the fourth-fastest time in the nation in 1:19.91. Earning second place behind Missouri’s 1:19.51, senior Peter Wetzlar led off the foursome with a 20.09 lead split, the fastest lead split in the field. Junior Lukas Kraft followed in 20.40, then senior John Mitchell in 19.84 and anchored by senior Jason Head in 19.58.
Wetzlar continues to impress the coaching staff, and there was no exception to that on Thursday. The senior from Zimbabwe swept the 100-yard freestyle field on a season-best 43.83. It ranks as the seventh-best time in the nation, replacing his former time of 43.86.
“Peter was awesome,” said head coach Lars Jorgensen. “Some of his swims today were really good against two elite programs. He continues to improve and get better, and what a great season he has had.
“I thought the guys competed well. They have a close meet with NC State, and we’ll try to give it a run tomorrow. Danny on the diving board was really good. On the women’s side, I thought Izzy Gati’s 200 butterfly was awesome. She found her way to a win, which was really cool. Kyndal Knight continues to be a leader for our team, and we are looking for some big things out of her tomorrow.”
Sophomore Gati took gold in the 200-yard butterfly on a season-best 1:58.89, shedding over four tenths of a second off her previously recorded time in October.
In the 200-yard individual medley, senior Asia Seidt finished in third place in 1:59.97, her season best. Senior Glen Brown also finished in third place in the event on a 1:47.87 season-best time, shedding nearly two full seconds off his last time out.
The Kentucky men trail NC State, 89-78, and Missouri, 122-45. The UK women trail NC State, 99-68, and Missouri, 105-62.
Friday’s events are as follows:
Women’s 3-meter diving
Men’s 1-meter diving
200 medley relay
1000 freestyle
50 freestyle
100 backstroke
200 breaststroke
100 butterfly
200 freestyle
400 individual medley
400 freestyle relay
Live results can be found here, or on the Meet Mobile app.
Tickets, Promotions and Parking
There is no admission cost and fans are encouraged to attend. Parking will be available for $2 an hour at parking structure No. 7, located on Sports Center Drive across from the E.J. Nutter Training Facility. The first 200 fans will receive a limited-edition Kentucky swimming and diving rubber duck.
Next on the Schedule
The program will take a two-week hiatus from competition before traveling to Columbus, Ohio, for the Ohio State Invitational, Nov. 21-23. The meet annually attracts a competitive field as teams go head-to-head in a long-course format.
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.
