Brooks, Knight, Zhang Earn Weekly Southeastern Conference Honors
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Following a pair of impressive performances last weekend that helped No. 12 University of Kentucky women’s swimming and diving upset No. 7 Tennessee for the first time since 1999, the Southeastern Conference has named Caitlin Brooks Female Swimmer of the Week and Kyndal Knight Female Diver of the Week. In addition, Danny Zhang of the Kentucky men’s swimming and diving team has been named SEC Male Diver of the Week.
Brooks, a sophomore from Gainesville, Florida, recorded the second-best times in the nation in all three of her individual events last Thursday, October 29, to help No. 12 Kentucky upset No. 7 Tennessee. It marked the first time the Kentucky women’s swimming and diving team beat Tennessee in a dual meet since 1999.
- 100 butterfly 53.37 – second in the nation
- 100 backstroke 52.32 – second in the nation
- 200 backstroke 1:54.71 – second in the nation
Brooks reached 2021 NCAA Championships “B” standards in each of those events, her first of the season in each of those events, too. Meanwhile, she was the only Kentucky swimmer to earn as many as three “B” standards during the dual meet.
While accomplishing all of that, she also landed first place in the 100 and 200 backstroke races in the contest. In just two dual meets this season, it marked the first time Brooks has swam in either backstroke events. She also helped the 200 medley relay team earn first place for the second straight dual meet, swimming the backstroke split in 24.55. In the 100 butterfly, Brooks was just .03 off from tying for first place and earning the top time in the nation.
Brooks has been named SEC Female Freshman of the Week three times in her career, but this is the first time she has been pegged the SEC Female Swimmer of the Week.
In her first competitive meet since March 2020, Knight, a junior from Stanley, North Carolina, swept the springboards against Tennessee, earning the top score on both the 1- and 3-meter springboards last Thursday evening to be named SEC Female Diver of the Week. It marks the third time in her career that Knight has been awarded this honor.
- 1-meter 291.08
- 3-meter 302.25
The defending SEC Champion on 3-meter earned first place on each discipline by more than 20 points ahead of second place. Meanwhile, both of her scores are well over the 2021 NCAA Zone C Diving Championships standards.
Danny Zhang, a junior from Cypress, California, also competed in his first meet of the season, earning first place on the 3-meter springboard and second place on the 1-meter springboard, behind teammate Chase Lane. This is the second time in his career that Zhang has been pegged as the SEC Male Diver of the Week.
- 1-meter 337.28
- 3-meter 395.63
Zhang, too, landed a first-place finish on the 3-meter springboard outscoring second place by more than 25 points. The defending SEC Champion on platform, Zhang also recorded scores well over the “Zone C” standards in each of his events.
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.
