Jan. 31, 2014
SWIMMING AND DIVING HOSTS CINCINNATI
When: Saturday, February 1, 2014 at 12 p.m. ET
Where:
Lancaster Aquatics Center, Lexington, Ky.
Tickets: Free Admission
Live Results:
UKathletics.com
Video: Coach Jorgensen, Seniors Simpson and Hill Preview Senior Day
Cat Scratches Feature: Wildcats honoring seniors for overcoming ‘the grind’
Additional Info: Twitter | Facebook
LEXINGTON, Ky. – In its final regular season meet of the 2013-14 season, the University of Kentucky Swimming and Diving team hosts Cincinnati Saturday on Senior Day at 12 p.m. ET.
Before the meet, head coach Lars Jorgensen and the Wildcats will celebrate the outstanding careers of 16 swimming and diving student-athletes.
“For them to swim four years is an amazing accomplishment, it’s a grind,” Jorgensen said of the seniors. “They’ve all done well in the classroom. They’ve allowed a coaching transition to happen and have left their mark on future classes. They’ve been great leaders, great people to work with. They will all be missed.
UK’s senior class includes Eric Bruck, Cassie Brueckbauer, Ross Bundschuh, Greg Ferrucci , John Fox, Blake Freeman, Lucas Gerotto, Will Heidler, Lindsay Hill, Luke Iannuzzi, Chris Lott, Diana Norkus, Zack Peterson, Carmen Pleasants, Maclin Simpson and Jake Thomas.
Admission to all UK home meets is free to the public. Saturday’s meet will begin at 12 p.m., while senior day activities will commence at 11:40 a.m.
Parking is available at Structure #7, located at 721 Sports Center Drive, at the corner of Sports Center Drive and Complex Drive. The parking structure is located just a short walk from the Lancaster Aquatics Center. More information about parking can be found at http://www.uky.edu/pts/.
FOLLOW ALONG FROM THE LANCASTER AQUATICS CENTER
Fans unable to attend Saturday’s meet at the Lancaster Aquatics Center can follow along with all the action with live results at UKathletics.com. Additional updates and behind-the-scenes notes and photos can be found at @UKSwimDive, the official Twitter account of the UK swimming and diving program.
SCOUTING CINCINNATI
Saturday’s meet is also the regular season finale for Cincinnati. The Bearcats are coming off a win from both the men and women at home against Wright State on Jan. 25. The women won 159-121, while the men claimed a 157-138 victory. Both UK and UC have competed against Louisville. The Cincinnati men and women fell on the road to the Cardinals on Jan. 11.
Monty Hopkins is in his 23rd season as head coach of the Bearcats. A former UC letter-winner, Hopkins has guided Cincinnati to 12 conference titles, two individual NCAA champions, 17 All-Americans and three Olympians.
LAST TIME OUT: AT LOUISVILLE
UK divers claimed the top two scores in all four events, including three events where the Wildcats swept the field, as UK suffered a defeat at No. 7/13 Louisville last Saturday.
Wins in three of the first four events for the women gave UK a lead early over the 13th-ranked Cardinal, and helped set up a closely-scored meet halfway through the competition. The Wildcats were unable to hang on for the upset and lost 193-107. The men fell by a final score of 212.5-87.5 to the Cardinals, ranked seventh nationally.
Junior Christa Cabot won both the 1- and 3-meter dive, while fellow junior Lindsay Keahey placed second in both events to round out UK’s scoring. On the men’s side, seniors Greg Ferrucci and John Fox won the 1- and 3-meter, respectively. Fox placed second in the 1-meter, while senior Zack Peterson was second in the 3-meter. The Wildcats also claimed third and fourth place in the 1-meter to sweep the competition. Along with four diving wins, freshman Kelly Berger won the 1,000 yard freestyle and senior Kristen Wilson claimed victory in the 200 yard freestyle. Berger added a second-place finish, while Wilson finished third in three additional races.
A full recap from Louisville can be found here.
UP NEXT: SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Saturday’s meet marks the end of the regular season for the UK swimming and diving team. The Wildcats will return to action at the Southeastern Conference Championships, Feb. 18-22 in Athens, Ga. Hosted by the University of Georgia, 42 individual SEC championship will be crowned during the five-day event, along with a men’s and women’s conference champion.
SEC HONORS BECHTEL, FERRUCCI AND FLYNN
The Wildcats have been honored with four Southeastern Conference Athlete of the Week honors this season. Freshman Brandon Flynn was named the Freshman of the Week on Oct. 29, while junior swimmer Christina Bechtel and senior diver Greg Ferrucci were honored with the season’s first Athlete the Week awards on Oct. 15. Bechtel was honored again on Nov. 27 with Swimmer of the Week accolades.
Bechtel broke two school records, set two meet records and recorded three NCAA ‘A’ or ‘B’ qualifying times in seven events Nov. 22-24 at the Ohio State Invitational to earn her second SEC honor. Competing against four teams, three of them ranked in the top 14 nationally, Bechtel posted career best times in all individual events.
Flynn was named the SEC’s Male Freshman Swimmer of the Week for the first time in his career after he won all four events he competed in against Missouri and Southern Illinois over two days. Flynn recorded his first collegiate win in the men’s 400 individual medley, and, eight events later, he returned to the water to win the men’s 500 freestyle. The next day, Flynn won the 1,000 yard freestyle in 9:21.94 before leading the way as the UK men finished one-two-three in the 500 yard freestyle.
Ferrucci, who has won all four diving events to open the year, was named the SEC’s Male Diver of the Week for the eighth time in his career. Ferrucci recorded wins in all four competitions to start the season. At Georgia on Sept. 25, he notched victories in the 1- and 3-meter dives, while the senior swept the diving events again at home against Ohio State on Oct. 11.
Bechtel earned her first career SEC Female Swimmer of the Week honor after a two-win performance Oct. 11 against Ohio State. On the strengths of two wins in the butterfly against Ohio State, Bechtel was ranked second nationally in the 100-yard butterfly after she finished first with a time of 54.34. Bechtel, an NCAA qualifier last year, also posted a win in the 200-yard butterfly against the Buckeyes.
THE JORGENSEN FILE
Lars Jorgensen is in his first season as head coach at Kentucky after serving as an associate head coach for the Wildcats last season. A 1988 Olympian and standout student-athlete at the University of Tennessee, Jorgensen served as interim head coach for his alma mater in 2011-12. He also spent time on the coaching staffs at Toledo and LSU.
As a student-athlete at UT, Jorgensen holds the school record in the 1,000 freestyle, set in 1992. He earned a silver medal at the 1993 SEC Championships in the 1,650 freestyle and helped the Volunteers to a third-place finish.
At the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, Jorgensen placed ninth in the 1,500-meter freestyle. His brother Daniel also competed in 1988, making them the second pair of brothers to participate in an Olympics. Daniel returned to the Olympics in 1992 and won a bronze medal as part of the 800 freestyle team, while their father, Niels, was an Olympic wrestler for Denmark.
RETURNING STARPOWER
UK returns all four student-athletes that competed at the 2013 Men’s and Women’s NCAA Championships. Senior diver Greg Ferrucci is coming off fourth-place finishes in all three NCAA events and became the first diver to earn First-Team All-America honors in one season on the 1 meter, 3 meter and platform. Senior John Fox and juniors Christina Bechtel and Christa Cabot made their first NCAA appearance in 2013.
2013-14 CAPTAINS ANNOUNCED
Seniors John Fox and Maclin Simpson and junior Michael Christian were named captains of the UK men’s team, while juniors Christina Bechtel, Christa Cabot and Lindsay Hill were announced as captains of the women’s squad.
A LOOK AT THE 2013-14 SCHEDULE
The 2013-14 campaign features dual or tri meets with five SEC foes and two home competitions. In addition to Oct. 11’s home opener against Ohio State, the Wildcats welcome Cincinnati to Lexington on Feb. 1 at noon at the Lancaster Aquatics Center on the UK campus.
The 2014 SEC Championships will be held Feb. 18-22 in Athens, Ga. The NCAA Women’s Championship will be in Minneapolis, Minn., March 20-23, while the men’s national championship will be March 27-30 in Austin, Texas.
The complete 2013-14 schedule can be found here.
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.
