Swimmers Host Blue-White Spring Meet on April 22

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky swimming and diving program, fresh off the 2016 NCAA Championships, will host its annual Blue-White Spring Meet next Friday, April 22.  The meet will be a swimming-only event, starting at 4 p.m. ET.

This year’s spring scrimmage will be in a nontraditional format in the collegiate sense, as the Wildcats will be pitted against each other in long course meters (LCM) races.  The NCAA competes in short course yards (SCY), but with the conclusion of the collegiate season and the approach of the 2016 US Olympic Trails at the end of June, the pool will be flipped to LCM to better serve the purpose of Kentucky’s summer training.  The meet will be an opportunity for fans to see the Wildcats, including the 2016 national champion in the 200-yard backstroke, Danielle Galyer, in action before the 25 swimmers who have made Olympic Trials cuts make the trip to Omaha, Neb.

Additionally, the meet will serve as a special occasion for one future Wildcat.  Madison Winstead, a Lexington native who will join the team next year, has been granted permission from the NCAA to participate in the meet.  Winstead has requested the waiver so her mother, Shane Winstead, who was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer last January, will have a guaranteed opportunity to see her daughter swim in a UK cap.  For the full story on the Winstead family, please read “Sun Shall Shine:  Mother’s Cancer Battle Inspires UK Swimming Signee” on UKathletics.com.

There will be 650 tickets available for those wishing to attend the spring meet.  Tickets are free of charge and can be picked up in person at Lancaster Aquatic Center during regular business hours while supplies last.  Every person, regardless of age, must have a ticket to enter the facility.

Fans can park in Parking Structures No. 1 and 7, which are both within walking distance of Lancaster Aquatic Center.  PS1 is located on the corner of University Drive and Cooper Drive, while PS7 is on the corner of Complex Drive and Sports Center Drive.  A map of the parking structure locations along with marked entrances for ticket numbers can be found here.  

For the latest on the Kentucky swimming and diving program, follow @UKSwimDive on Twitter, on Facebook at Facebook.com/UKSwimDive, and on the web at ukathletics.com.