Oct. 30, 2014

LEXINGTON, Ky. – After two weeks off, the Kentucky swimming and diving team returns to action against two ranked teams Friday at 2 p.m. ET vs. Tennessee and Indiana in Knoxville, Tenn.

The Wildcats enter the meet receiving votes in the season’s first women’s rankings, announced by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). The Lady Vols are ranked 12th and the Hoosier women are No. 20. The IU men are 8th nationally, while the UT men are ranked 14th.

“We are going to face two really good programs Friday,” UK head coach Lars Jorgensen said. “Two programs that are really good, but that’s the competition that a lot of our athletes need, which makes us better. It will be good competition, and I’m excited to see some athletes step up and be competitive in some races. We’ll look to continue to build towards the last two meets of the fall.

Live results from the swimming competition can be found here, while live diving results will be available on DiveMeets.com. Additional updates and behind-the-scenes news and notes can be found on Twitter at @UKSwimDive.

CABOT NAMED SEC DIVER OF THE WEEK

Kentucky senior diver Christa Cabot was named the Southeastern Conference Women’s Diver of the Week on Oct. 21 after winning both diving events with season-best scores vs. Florida.

The SEC Diver of the Week award is the first of Cabot’s career. A native of The Woodlands, Texas, Cabot claimed her first victory of the season with a 327.83 in the 3-meter event. The senior bested Florida’s Kahlia Warner by just over four points. In the 1-meter event, Cabot tallied a 327.45, also a season-best to win by over 20 points over Warner.

LAST TIME OUT: UK FALLS TO PERRENIAL POWERHOUSE FLORIDA

The Kentucky swimming and diving team lost to perennial powerhouse Florida on Oct. 16 at the Lancaster Aquatics Center. Highlighted by two wins each from seniors Christina Bechtel and Christa Cabot and freshman Levi Lindsey, the women fell 161-137 while the men lost 164-128 to the defending Southeastern Conference champions.

Led by Cabot and Lindsey, UK swept all four diving events. Cabot claimed her first victory of the season with a 327.83 on 3-meter. In the 1-meter event, Cabot tallied a 327.45 to win by over 20 points. Lindsey earned his first collegiate victory on 1-meter with a career-best 307.43. The first-year diver beat out teammate and fellow freshman Stephen Jou, who finished second with a career-high 292.28. On 3-meter, Lindsey won with a 360.75 to cap a perfect night for the UK divers.

Bechtel, who won three events in last weekend’s season-opener, claimed wins in the 100 and 200 butterfly. She notched UK’s first win of the day with a 1:57.70 in the 200 yard butterfly. The senior finished over four seconds faster than the second-place swimmer to post an NCAA B qualifying time in the event. After an NCAA-best time in the 100 butterfly last week, Bechtel bested her time with a 53.03 to win the event vs. Florida. A member of the USA Swimming National Team in 2014-15, Bechtel’s win in the 100 butterfly was her team-best fifth of the young season. UK posted a 1-2 finish in the men’s 200 butterfly. Sophomore Kyle Higgins won with a season-best 1:49.96, ahead of teammate Isaac Jones, who touched the wall in 1:50.54.

SCOUTING FLORIDA

Florida is coming off men’s and women’s wins over LSU last weekend. The men, the defending SEC champions, downed the Tigers 162.5-122.5 and the women notched a 166-134 victory.

Last season, the UF men placed third at the NCAA championships, while the Gator women were third at the SEC Championships and sixth nationally in 2014.

UP NEXT: UK HOSTS MISSOURI, NORTHWESTERN & SIU

Kentucky returns home Nov. 7 and 8 for a quad meet featuring Missouri, Northwestern and Southern Illinois. Competition begins at 1 p.m. with the diving events, while swimming commences at 6 p.m. on Nov. 7 at the Lancaster Aquatics Center. Nov. 8’s schedule will be announced at a later date, tentatively set to begin at 9 or 11 a.m.

BECHTEL, GALYER EARN SPOT ON TEAM USA IN 2014-15

Senior Christina Bechtel was named to the 2014-15 USA Swimming National Team, while sophomore Danielle Galyer earned a spot on the 2014-15 Junior National Team. Bechtel and Galyer were named to Team USA after competing alongside 12 other UK swimmers at the USA Swimming National Championships, Aug. 6-10.

Bechtel was selected to Team USA as one of six swimmers in the 100 and 200 butterfly after a 59.05 in the 100 fly and a 2:09.67 in the 200 at the national championships. Galyer’s first competition with USA Swimming was at the 2014 Junior Pan Pacific Championships, August 27-30. One of 23 female competitors to represent the United State at the international event, Galyer notched a fourth-place finish, the highest of any U.S. athlete in the women’s 200 LC Meter Backstroke in 2:13.77.

NATIONAL ACADEMIC HONORS
Highlighted by earning the nation’s best grade-point average among Division I men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams, the 2013-14 season was capped by several national academic honors for the UK women’s swimming and diving team. The team earned a 3.728 GPA, best among all University of Kentucky teams and tops in the country, as recognized by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America.

The CSCAA also named seven UK swimmers and divers Scholar All-Americans. Christina Bechtel, Christa Cabot, Danielle Galyer and Abby Myers earned First Team Scholar All-America honors, while Kelly Berger, Kendal Casey and Kendra Crew each were named to the Honorable Mention team.

Additionally, Abby Myers was named to the 2014 Capital One Academic All-District At-Large team, one of 10 honorees on the Division I team in District 2 and one of six women’s swimmers from the Southeastern Conference.

LOOKING BACK AT 2013-14

In Lars Jorgensen’s first season as head coach in 2013-14, the Kentucky women placed 23rd at the NCAA Championships, their highest national finish since 2008. UK earned four All-America honors, with two top-eight finishes. The men finished 37th as five Wildcats earned Honorable Mention All-America honors. A combined nine All-Americans by both teams was the most for a UK team since 2010, while the eight Wildcats to earn the honor were the most since 2008.

Kentucky was one of eight SEC teams to place either a men’s or women’s team in the top 25 nationally.

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.