Oct. 31, 2014
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Senior diver Christa Cabot won both events for the second consecutive meet against two top-15 teams as the Kentucky Swimming and Diving team fell to Tennessee and Indiana Friday in Knoxville, Tenn.
The No. 19 UK women lost 176.5-123.5 to No. 1 IU and 191-109 to No. 15 UT. The Wildcat men fell 234-64 to the 16th-ranked Volunteers and 240-58 to the sixth-ranked Hoosiers.
“Christa was really good today,” UK head coach Lars Jorgensen said. “The divers led the way for us on the women’s team, with Christa winning both events and Rebecca [Hamperian] finishing third in both as well. I’m also proud of how the women raced in the breaststroke events. For the men, Kyle Higgins raced well today against tough competition. We’ll use today to continue to get better as we work towards our home meet next weekend.”
After winning both events on Oct. 16 vs. Florida and earning SEC Diver of the Week honors, Cabot kept her winning streak going in Knoxville. The senior recorded a 306.40 on 3-meter and a 301.60 on 1-meter, the only women’s diver to score 300 points on either event.
“Our women competed well today,” head diving coach Ted Hautau said. “Christa and Rebecca both had some really good dives especially. Our freshman guys were going up against some big competition and were intimidated. They will learn from that, keep working and compete better next week.
Along with Cabot, fellow senior Christina Bechtel won two events, the 100 and 200 butterfly. Bechtel has now won the 100 butterfly in each of UK’s first three meets to open the 2014-15 season.
Kentucky returns home Nov. 7 and 8 for a quad meet featuring Missouri, Northwestern and Southern Illinois. Competition begins at noon ET with the diving events, while swimming commences at 6 p.m. on Nov. 7 at the Lancaster Aquatics Center. Competition on Nov. 8 begins at 9 a.m. ET.
Cabot claimed her first win of the day with a 306.40 on 3-meter. The senior bested Indiana’s Jessica Parratto by nearly six points. On 1-meter, Cabot completed the sweep with a 301.60 to finish nearly 11 points ahead of Parratto. UK sophomore Rebecca Hamperian added a pair of third-place finishes with a 288.10 on 3-meter and a 278.15 on 1-meter.
Bechtel won her first race of the day in the 200 butterfly with a 1:57.91. The senior claimed the win by 2.37 seconds. Fellow senior Abby Myers placed fourth in 2:00.55, just 0.27 seconds shy of a second-place finish.
UK recorded a one-two finish in the 100 butterfly thanks to Bechtel and Myers. Bechtel touched the wall 53.72, 1.04 seconds ahead of Myers, who finished second in 54.68.
The Wildcats added a trio of runner-up finishes vs. Indiana and Tennessee, led by Kendra Crew. The sophomore placed second in the 100 breaststroke by 0.01 seconds with a time of 1:05.01. Teammate Sam Shaheen placed fourth in 1:04.06. Crew also was second in the 200 breaststroke in 2:18.79, ahead of Shaheen, who posted a third-place finish in 2:20.03.
In the 200 butterfly, Matt Roman was second in 1:52.68, over two seconds ahead of Indiana’s third-place finisher.
Drew Aviotti recorded a third-place finish in the 1,650 freestyle in 15:32.35, while Kentucky’s women’s 200 medley relay notched a 1:43.17 to also place third.
For complete news and updates on the Kentucky Swimming and Diving program, go to UKathletics.com/SwimmingDiving. Breaking news, behind-the-scenes updates, photos and more can be found on Twitter at @UKSwimDive and Facebook at Facebook.com/UKSwimDive.
