Wildcats Host Vanderbilt in Dual Season Debut
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky women’s swimming and diving team will officially open its 2017-18 season Wednesday afternoon, playing host to Southeastern Conference opponent Vanderbilt at 2 p.m. inside the Lancaster Aquatic Center. Kentucky will don pink caps for the meet in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“We’re definitely excited to be opening up the season against another SEC team,” said head coach Lars Jorgensen. “With this meet, we’re really looking forward to seeing how we can make some adjustments to our lineup and training as we lead up to the Ohio State Invitational in November.”
The Wildcat women are coming off one of the best seasons in school history in 2016-17. Spurred by gold-medal performances from then-freshman Asia Seidt and then-sophomore Geena Freriks, the Wildcats placed third at the SEC Championships to match their highest finish in program history.
The team went on to post its highest point total ever at the NCAA Championships en route to a 14th-place finish, its highest in more than a decade. Eight women achieved All-America distinction across nine different events, six of which will return this season. Those six accounted for 14 of the team’s 19 All-America honors in 2016-17.
Friday’s Blue-White Intrasquad offered a glimpse into Kentucky’s upcoming season, as the Wildcats swam in a competitive setting for the first time in the academic year. The meet was highlighted by performances from Seidt and freshman Bailey Bonnett, who each secured a trio of victories. Seidt took the crown in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke events as well as the 100-yard butterfly. Bonnett swept the breaststroke events, and won the 200-yard individual medley.
DIVING IN: VANDERBILT
The Commodores’ swimming-only squad finished 12th at last season’s SEC Championships with 104 points and did not have any qualifiers for the NCAA Championships.
ON DECK: EASTERN MICHIGAN
The Kentucky men and women will both be in action Oct. 14, as the Wildcats take on Eastern Michigan inside the Lancaster Aquatic Center at 1 p.m.
WILDCATS ON TEAM USA
Seidt and Bridgette Alexander were each named to the 2017-18 U.S. National Team roster, USA Swimming announced last month. UK head coach Lars Jorgensen and assistant coach Allison Reed were also named U.S. National Team coaches for the upcoming year.
The duo represented the Wildcats and Team USA at the World University Games in Taipei, where Alexander earned bronze in the 200-meter backstroke and Seidt finished fourth in the same event.
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.
