March 5, 2014
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Three University of Kentucky swimmers were invited to the 2014 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, it was announced today. Juniors Christina Bechtel and Abby Myers along with freshman Danielle Galyer will represent the Wildcats at the Championships in Minneapolis, March 20-22.
Bechtel, making her second consecutive NCAA Championships appearance, will race in the 100 and 200 yard butterfly event. Myers will join Bechtel in the 200 butterfly, while Galyer will compete in the 200 backstroke.
“This is a great honor for Christina, Abby and Danielle,” UK head coach Lars Jorgensen said. “I’m really proud of how much all three have improved throughout the year, I think all 3 have a chance of scoring, which is our goal. Last year Christina and diver Christa Cabot were our only NCAA qualifiers, so it’s nice to have more of a contingent this year representing the Wildcats. We are excited about going and hopefully swimming really fast against the nation’s best.”
While the complete list of 281 swimmers have been announced, 41 divers still have to qualify. Cabot and Lindsay Keahey, both juniors, will compete at the NCAA Zone Diving Meet March 13-15 in Columbus, Ohio to qualify for an invite to the championships.
Bechtel enters the championships seeded fifth nationally in the 100 fly and eighth in the 200. She broke the school record in both events this year, with a 51.36 in the 100 and a 1:54.21 in the 200. Myers, seeded 36th in the 200, is second in the UK record books with a 1:56.59.
Galyer is seeded 35th in the 200 backstroke. Her time of 1:54.88, set at the SEC Championships in February, is a UK record.
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.
