Swimming & Diving: No. 25/8 Kentucky Travels to No. 13/11 Alabama
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 25/8 University of Kentucky men’s and women’s swimming program will compete in its fourth meet of the season at the end of this week, traveling to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for a dual meet with the No. 13/11 Crimson Tide on Thursday, December 17 and Friday, December 18.
The dual meet will be scored as normal, while the format will include five sessions of events spread across both days – two sessions on Thursday and three sessions on Friday. The dual meet will be carried on SEC Network+, and results can be found on DiveMeets.com, the Meet Mobile app, or online here.
The timeline is as follows:
Thursday, December 17
Session One – 3 p.m. ET (1,650 freestyle, 1-meter, 3-meter)
Session Two – 5 p.m. ET (swimming only)
Friday, December 18
Session Three – 10 a.m. ET (swimming only)
Session Four – 2 p.m. ET (platform)
Session Five – 5 p.m. ET (swimming only)
In the most recent College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America Division I Poll, coaches have touted the Kentucky women’s swimming and diving team the eighth-ranked team in the nation. The group rolls into Tuscaloosa after crafting an unblemished start to the season, earning wins overs Vanderbilt, then-No. 7 Tennessee, then-No. 13 Missouri and then-RV Arkansas since the schedule commenced in October.
The team hasn’t competed for one whole month, but has still managed to maintain eight times in the top 10 in the nation, including three times in the top five in the nation, paced by Caitlin Brooks, Beth McNeese and Riley Gaines.
The Kentucky men’s swimming and diving team dipped into the top 25 in the most recent poll, despite the group only competing twice this season, falling to a pair of ranked opponents including then-No. 14 Tennessee and then-No. 18 Missouri in a pair of tight races.
Adam Rosipal, a junior transfer from the University of Indianapolis, has turned heads so far for the men’s team this season, posting a pair of times good enough to be in the program’s all-time top 10 (1,000 and 1,650 freestyle). He also owns the 19th-best time in the nation in the 1,650 freestyle (15:10.38).
Both the men’s and the women’s teams boast experienced and credible divers that are expected to help the program in scoring throughout the dual meet. Kyndal Knight, a junior from Stanley, North Carolina, and defending Southeastern Conference Champion on the 3-meter springboard, remains undefeated this season on the 1-meter springboard. Just a month ago at the Mizzou Initation, she also recorded a career best on platform, becoming the seventh-best in program laurels on a score of 285.40 points.
Chase Lane, two-time silver medalist on platform at the league meet, and Danny Zhang, the defending SEC Champion on platform at the league meet, both lead the efforts on the men’s side, going toe-to-toe all season long in each discipline. In fact, between Lane and Zhang, the men’s team hasn’t lost a diving event all season, splitting the titles through two meets this fall.
Knight and Lane were supposed to be competing at the 2020 USA Diving Winter National Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, this week, but it was canceled due to the COVID-19 public health threat.
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.
