March 12, 2014
DIVING AT NCAA ZONE DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
When: March 13-15, 2014, 1 p.m. ET
Where: McCorkle Aquatics Pavilion, Columbus, Ohio
Live Results:
DiveMeets.com
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Video:
Coach Hautau, Cabot and Ferrucci Preview the Zone Championships
Columbus, Ohio – The University of Kentucky divers will compete at the NCAA Zone Diving Championships, March 13-15 at Ohio State’s McCorkle Aquatics Pavilion to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Seniors Greg Ferrucci, John Fox and Zack Peterson, juniors Christa Cabot and Lindsay Keahey and sophomore Noah Richter will represent UK in an attempt to qualify for the upcoming NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. Ferrucci, Fox and Cabot will try to make return visits to the NCAA Championships, while Keahey, Peterson and Richter will look to qualify for their first championship appearance.
“We’ve been training hard all year long, they are well prepared,” UK diving coach Ted Hautau said. “We’ve been building since this moment, we are excited. The SEC Championships two weeks ago was a good competitive environment, so our season leads to this weekend. We’ve had great competition all season, everything builds to this moment.”
The three-day competition begins Thursday at 1 p.m. ET with the women’s 1-meter and men’s 3-meter event. The meet continues Friday with the men’s 1-meter and women’s 3-meter prelims and finals, followed by the men’s and women’s platform event on Saturday.
Kentucky’s six divers will look to join a field of four swimmers and one relay squad who have already earned NCAA berths. Juniors Christina Bechtel and Abby Myers and freshman Danielle Galyer will represent UK at the women’s championships next weekend in Minneapolis, Minn. Freshman Brandon Flynn, along with UK’s 200 medley relay team of senior Lucas Gerotto, junior George Greenhalgh and seniors Eric Bruck and Chris Lott will swim for Kentucky at the men’s championships the following weekend in Austin, Texas.
Fans can follow along with all the action from OSU’s McCorkle Aquatics Pavilion with live results at DiveMeets.com. Additional updates can be found at @UKSwimDive, the official Twitter account of the UK swimming and diving program.
LAST TIME OUT: SEC CHAMPIONSHIPS
The UK swimming and diving team won two medals and broke nine school records last week at the SEC Championships in Athens, Ga., Feb. 18-22. The UK men finished eighth with 522 points overall, while the women placed 10th with 426 points.
Junior Christina Bechtel claimed UK’s first swimming medal since 2012 with a runner-up finish in the women’s 100 yard butterfly Thursday. The first SEC medal of her career, Bechtel finished in 51.69 for UK’s first runner-up finish at the SEC Championships since 2010.
Senior Greg Ferrucci went out with a bang in his final SEC Championship appearance with a bronze medal-winning performance on platform Friday. It marked the sixth SEC medal of his career after he scored a 409.90 in an exciting, tightly-contested platform final.
In total, nine school record times were broken by UK, five individual records and four relay records. Junior George Greenhalgh broke the record in the 100 and 200 breaststroke along with helping to break the 200 and 400 medley relay records. Freshman Danielle Galyer helped topple three school marks, the 200 backstroke individually and as part of the 800 freestyle relay and the 400 medley relay. Freshman Kendal Casey also broke an individual school record in the 200 freestyle.
UP NEXT: NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Postseason competition continues for UK at the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships. The NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships will be held March 20-23 in Minneapolis, Minn., while the men’s championships are scheduled for March 27-30 in Austin, Texas.
WILDCATS EARN FIVE SEC ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONORS
The Wildcats have been honored with five 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, while Ferrucci earned the season’s final Diver of the Week award on Feb. 4.
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 won all four diving events to open the year. 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.
Ferrucci earned his ninth career SEC weekly award on Feb. 4 after the senior won both the 1- and 3-meter competition with season-high scores against Cincinnati on Senior Day in Lexington. The Huntersville, N.C., native posted a 398.25 in the 1-meter event to shatter his previous season-best by more than 20 points. His score is the second-best in the SEC this season. In the 3-meter competition, Ferrucci tallied a 374.33, a season-best by nearly 30 points.
Abby Myers, Maclin Simpson NAMED TO SEC COMMUNITY SERVICE TEAM
Swimmers Maclin Simpson and Abby Myers were named to the 2014 men’s and women’s Swimming and Diving Community Service Team. Simpson, a senior, is named to the team for the second time in his career, while Myers, a junior, earned her first Community Service Team honor. The team highlights an athlete from each school who gives back to his or her community in superior service efforts.
Simpson, a Louisville, Ky., native, was also named to the Community Service Team in 2012. A three-time team captain, the senior participated in an Ethiopian Mission Trip in the summer of 2013 with several other UK student-athletes. He also volunteered with the UK Children’s Hospital Blanket Project, Back Pack Program packing and delivery, Back-to-School Picnic and Cats Cultivating Character. He was Inducted into Kentucky’s prestigious Frank G. Ham Society of Character in 2013. A marketing and management major, Simpson is also a two-time SEC All-Academic Team honoree.
From Cranberry Township, Pa., Myers was named to the Community Service Team for the first time in her career. The junior volunteered with the International Book Project, coached the Fintastics team for the Special Olympics YMCA and was a United Way collection drive volunteer. She also worked on the UK Children’s Hospital Blanket Project, Cats Cultivating Character and the Back Pack Program delivery. A 2014 nominee for the University of Kentucky’s prestigious Frank G. Ham Society of Character, Myers is a Kinesiology and Health Promotions Major with a Pre-Physical Therapy concentration.
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.
