Zhang Places 20th in the Nation on 3-Meter Springboard
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Three University of Kentucky men’s swimmers and divers earned top-35 finishes on the third day of the 2021 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championship, which runs Wednesday through Saturday.
Danny Zhang earned his second-best finish ever at the national championship on Friday afternoon, forcing 20th place on the 3-meter springboard with a score of 348.95. Four of his six dives earned marks of 60.00 or higher, including his best performance of the afternoon, the forward three-and-a-half somersault pike (107B), that scored 66.65 points. His 20th-place finish marked Zhang’s second top-25 finish of the meet thus far, after the junior rallied for 23rd place on the 1-meter springboard with a score of 290.35 Thursday.
Just one month after breaking the school record in the 200 freestyle in 1:33.87 at the 2021 Southeastern Conference Championships, Mason Wilby competed in the event as the 28th seed at the national championship this morning. The junior touched the wall in 1:34.84 to finish in 30th place, the fourth-best swim in the event of his career. It came less than 24 hours after he forced a 1:45.40 in the 200 IM to finish in 35th place, his third-fastest swim in the event of his career.
Swimming in his first national championship as just a freshman, Zane Rosely took to the pool for the first time this week to compete in the 400 IM preliminaries. The rookie touched the wall in 3:49.40 to finish 32nd in the nation. He was just one of six freshmen swimming in the 400 IM preliminaries field, while his time marked his third best in his career.
The meet will resume on Saturday, the final day, with the 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, 1,650 freestyle, platform and the 400 freestyle relay. The preliminaries will begin at 10 a.m. ET and finals will begin at 6 p.m. ET.
ESPN3 will provide digital broadcast coverage for all sessions. A full schedule of the meet and direct links to watch the broadcast can be found here.
How It Works
In swimming and diving, the top eight from the preliminary round move on to the “A” final and the next eight move on to the “B” final. Those that finish 1st-8th and are touted as First Team All-America, while those that finish 9th-16th are named Honorable Mention All-America.
All-America Honorable Mention Count (1)
Chase Lane, 1-meter springboard
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.
