Swimming and Diving Hosts Quad Meet Friday and Saturday

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky swimming and diving team returns home to face Missouri, Northwestern and Southern Illinois on Nov. 7-8. Competition begins at noon ET with the diving events, while swimming commences at 6 p.m. on Nov. 7 at the Lancaster Aquatics Center. Swimming on Nov. 8 begins at 9 a.m. ET.

The UK women (1-3, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) enter the weekend ranked 20th nationally in the CollegeSwimming.com rankings, while the Wildcat men (0-4, 0-3 SEC) are 41st. Kentucky has faced three top-15 men’s teams and three top-11 women’s teams in 2014-15. Each of the Wildcats’ four opponents are ranked in the current top-27 in the men’s and women’s rankings.

Fans unable to attend Friday and Saturday’s competition can follow along with live results on UKathletics.com. Additional updates and behind-the-scenes news and notes can be found on Twitter at @UKSwimDive.

Admission to all UK home meets is free to the public. On Friday, parking is available in 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.

Saturday, fans are asked to park in Parking Structures #2, on Hilltop Ave., Structure #3 on Huguelet Dr. or Structure #6 at the corner of Virginia Ave. and Press Ave. Due to the UK football game vs. Georgia at Noon, these are the only free parking options for fans attending the quad meet.

More information about parking can be found at www.uky.edu/pts.

WILDCATS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS

Three UK swimmers have posted times that rank among the top 10 nationally. Senior Christina Bechtel’s 53.03 in the 100 butterfly is second in the Southeastern Conference and the third-fastest in the NCAA this season. Bechtel’s 1:57.70 in the 200 butterfly is also third in the SEC and fifth nationally. Sophomore Drew Aviotti posted a 15:32.25 in the 1,650 freestyle, the fourth-fastest time in the conference and 10th in Division I.

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.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

Missouri is No. 16 in the CollegeSwimming.com men’s rankings and No. 29 in the women’s. Last season, the Tiger men placed fifth at the SEC Championships, while the women were ninth. In dual meet competition in 2013, the UK women downed Mizzou 228-218, while the Wildcat men lost 267.5-177.5.

Northwestern enters the weekend No. 35 in the women’s rankings, while the men are 36th. NU has competed twice this fall, with a women’s win over Illinois and a men’s win at Eastern Michigan to open the season before men’s and women’s wins over UIC and Oakland on Oct. 25.

The Southern Illinois women are 2-2 on the season after wins over Evansville and Missouri State and a loss to Illinois State and Illinois. The SIU men opened with a win at Evansville before defeats to Missouri State, Illinois State and Illinois. Last season, Kentucky posted two wins over the Salukis, 312-136 by the men and 310-138 by the women.

LAST TIME OUT: CABOT SWEEPS, BECHTEL WINS TWO VS. IU, UT

Senior diver Christa Cabot won both events for the second consecutive meet against two top-15 teams as Kentucky fell to Tennessee and Indiana on Oct. 31 in Knoxville, Tenn. The No. 19 UK women lost 176.5-123.5 to No. 1 IU and 191-109 to No. 15 UT. The Wildcat men fell 234-64 to the 16th-ranked Volunteers and 240-58 to the sixth-ranked Hoosiers.

After winning both events on Oct. 16 vs. Florida and earning SEC Diver of the Week honors, Cabot kept her winning streak going in Knoxville. The senior recorded a 306.40 on 3-meter and a 301.60 on 1-meter, the only women’s diver to score 300 points on either event.

Along with Cabot, fellow senior Christina Bechtel won two events, the 100 and 200 butterfly. Bechtel has now won the 100 butterfly in each of UK’s first three meets to open the 2014-15 season.

UP NEXT: AT OHIO STATE INVITATIONAL

The fall season closes at the Ohio State Invitational, Nov. 21-23 in Columbus, Ohio. The Wildcats will face three Big Ten foes in Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin along with Kenyon.

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.