ATHENS, Ga. – Junior diver Taryn Ignacio continued to make UK history on Saturday when she became the school?s first-ever National Champion in the platform diving event. Ignacio, a two-time Southeastern Conference platform champion, came in fourth after the prelim round with a score of 291.30 and came back in the finals to score 335.20, an NCAA and school record, to finish first at the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga. As a team, Kentucky finished the Championships a school-best 13th and with its highest point total of 98.50.
?I can?t say how special Taryn (Ignacio) was tonight,? diving coach Mike Lyden said. ?She was really on her game setting NCAA and school records in the finals. She (Taryn) didn?t miss a dive tonight.?
Ignacio, a native of Richmond, Ky., has been dominant in the platform event throughout the postseason. At the SEC Championships in February, Ignacio became the first Wildcat diver to repeat as SEC Champion. Last weekend, Ignacio nearly won the platform at the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships. Ignacio finished just 14.75 points behind Zone Champion Heather Bounds of Miami (Fla.). At the NCAA Championships, Ignacio moved from her fourth place preliminary round finish to first, finishing 15.30 points ahead of Hawaii?s Rui Wang. The platform was the second event of these Championships that Ignacio gained All-America honors. On Thursday, Ignacio gained the same honors for finishing eighth in the 1-meter diving event.
?It was a tough competition all the way to the end,? Lyden said. ?(Hawaii?s) Wang kept the pressure on all the way through. Taryn (Ignacio) came out on her final dive and nailed it. She (Ignacio) earned her national championship.?
Ignacio wasn?t the only Wildcat to garner honors on the final day of competition at Georgia?s Gabrielsen Natatorium. Sophomore Jenny Bradford gained her fifth All-America recognition of these NCAA Championships by finishing seventh in the 100 freestyle event. The 100 freestyle swim was the second All-America honor for Bradford who gained the same recognition on Thursday in the 50 freestyle. Bradford also was awarded honorable mention All-America honors in the 100 butterfly, as well as for being apart of the 200 medley relay, the 400 medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay teams.
At the SEC Championships, UK accomplished the unthinkable having the top-3 finishers in the platform diving event. At the NCAA Championships, Kentucky accomplished another great feat by tying Indiana with the most platform divers gaining All-America recognition with three. Junior Joey Brown and senior Jessica Thompson capped off their tremendous seasons by gaining honorable mention All-America honors. Brown took 14th while Thompson came in 16th. Thompson captured honorable mention All-America honors in the platform event for the second straight season.
?Today was a really good day for us bouncing back from what I thought was a sluggish outing yesterday,? head coach Gary Conelly said. ?We are really pleased to have our highest point total ever. Taryn (Ignacio) was fantastic and it was really special for Mike (Lyden) to coach his first-ever national champion.?
?Overall, today was a very good outing for our entire team.?
Next up for the Kentucky Wildcats will be the Men?s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. The Championships begin Thursday in Atlanta. Fans can ukathletics.com for recaps throughout the weekend.
