Saturday, the Kentucky swimming and diving team will honor its 12 seniors before the Wildcats take on in-state rival Louisville.
The Kentucky-Louisville rivalry already packs plenty of emotion and significance. No matter the sport, it’s the one opponent on every UK team’s schedule that you don’t need help getting excited for. Add in Senior Day, and it makes for an even bigger meet Saturday at the Lancaster Aquatics Center. Not to mention the postseason begins in less than a month.
Saturday is the last home meet for the 12 seniors. For Christina Bechtel, Christa Cabot, Michael Christian, Brent Dillon, Katrina Keirns, Lindsay Keahey, Blair Kuethe, Abby Myers, Robert Resch, Samantha Shaheen, Derrick Smith and Kristen Wilson, UK vs. U of L is one last time competing in the Lancaster Aquatics Center.
Hours upon hours in the pool for practice. Lap after lap, with a coaching change halfway through their four years.
Lars Jorgensen arrived in Lexington as an assistant coach for the 2012-13 season, and took over as the head coach the following season. As Jorgensen prepares to take the Wildcats into the postseason for the second time and continues to build the program, the impact of this year’s senior class cannot be overstated.
“They’ve been awesome; it’s really been tremendous,” Jorgensen said of the 12 seniors. “I’ve been fortunate to have worked with them for three years now, one year as an assistant. Watching them grow as people and as athletes has been a lot of fun. I’ve loved coaching them. They’re great.”
It’s a group of All-Americans and walk-ons, from as close as Lexington to as far away as Texas and Ontario, Canada. Their shared goal and aspiration to help bring their team to new heights has made this group of 12 student-athletes a tight-knit group.
They bought into his vision and direction for the program when Jorgensen took over two years ago. As his second season nears its peak, Jorgensen’s championship mentality and goals have rubbed off on his team.
From record times in the pool to their leadership outside of it, the seniors are a big reason why Jorgensen has taken the Wildcats so far in just two seasons.
It’s the perfect mix of leadership and immense athletic talent for a team that has more freshmen (27) than juniors and seniors combined (21).
“They are good people, good citizens and good athletes,” Jorgensen said. “We are going to have some big shoes next year to fill. But I think they have been instrumental in helping shape and help turning around the program. We still have a long way to go, but I think that’s one of the things that this class in particular, both the men and women’s teams, have done is started the transition on becoming more competitive.”
Saturday will be an opportunity to honor the 12 Wildcats that signal the start of that transition that began last year.
While several swimmers have already earned NCAA “A” or “B” qualifying times, the next month, with a meet at Cincinnati next weekend before the SEC Championships in the middle of February, is when the competition really heat up. The Wildcats will have an opportunity to add to their total that have qualified for the NCAA Championships, therefore giving them a better chance at improving on last year’s 23rd-place finish by the women and 37th-place showing by the men.
It’s the teams’ performance at the SEC Championships, held Feb. 17-21 in Auburn, Ala., and the NCAA Championships the following month, that will solidify the legacy of this year’s senior class.
As Jorgensen continues to build the UK program on a daily basis, the team, led by its seniors, has embraced the change that their head coach has encouraged.
“I think change has got to start somewhere and they have been really good about that,” Jorgensen said. “The big thing is creating a culture of expectations both in practice and meets and they’ve done that. They have been really instrumental in turning our program around. I hope we do hang some banners in the future, and would look back and say this year’s seniors had a big impact.”
The legacy of the 2014-15 senior class 10 years from now might be unknown, but all signs point to one that leaves a lasting impact on their team and university.
