Wildcats Readied for SEC Championships in College Station
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Kentucky swimming and diving will begin postseason action this week at the 2018 Southeastern Conference Championships in College Station, Texas. The five-day meet will run from Feb. 14-18 inside the Student Rec Center Natatorium on the campus of Texas A&M.
“It’s always an exciting time of the year for the team,” said head coach Lars Jorgensen. “To go to the SEC Championships, it’s an extremely fun meet to compete against some of the best teams in the country. We look forward to the challenge.”
The meet will kick off on Wednesday with women’s 1-meter diving prelims at 11:30 a.m. ET, followed by men’s 3-meter diving prelims at 3 p.m. Day one finals will begin at 5:20 p.m.
Aside from Wednesday, the meet will follow a set schedule each day with swimming prelims beginning at 11 a.m. and diving prelims to follow at 1:30 p.m. Each night’s finals session will begin at 7 p.m.
All five days of action can be viewed live on SEC Network+ as well as the Watch ESPN app, while Sunday’s finals session will air live nationally on SEC Network.
Women’s Outlook
Seven women’s teams from the SEC are ranked inside the latest CSCAA top 25 which was released Jan. 31. The No. 13 Kentucky women’s team checks in as the fourth-ranked team inside the conference, which is led by No. 2 Texas A&M.
The Kentucky women are coming off a historic performance at the 2017 SEC Championships, which saw the Wildcats match their highest team finish in program history with a third-place showing. The UK women return defending SEC champions in sophomore Asia Seidt (200 backstroke) and junior Geena Freriks (200 freestyle), as well as sophomore Madison Winstead who won silver in the 100 breaststroke last season.
Senior Bridgette Alexander and sophomore Ali Galyer will team with Seidt to defend the 200 back, as all three rank in the top five in conference in the event this season.
The Wildcats have also added freshman breaststroker Bailey Bonnett to the mix, who currently owns the third-fastest time in conference in the 200 breast (2:07.83) and fourth-best in the SEC in the 100 breast at 59.60.
Men’s Outlook
Eight SEC men’s teams are ranked in the latest CSCAA poll, led by the third-ranked Florida Gators. The Kentucky men’s team is receiving votes in the poll.
Kentucky’s men’s team is led by senior Isaac Jones, who is the top-seeded swimmer in both the 500 and 1,650 freestyle events at this week’s championships. Jones reset the school records in both events earlier this season at the Ohio State Invitational in November.
The Kentucky men also return All-American diver Seb Masterton, who finished in the top five of both the 3-meter and platform diving competitions at the 2017 SEC Championships. Masterton broke the program record on 1-meter at the Ohio State Invitational this season as well, with a score of 423.10.
Clear Bags
Texas A&M’s Clear Bag policy will be enforced for the duration of the championship. Visit 12thman.com/beclear for more.
Tickets
All Session tickets are $110 and include one ticket for each of the 9 sessions. Based on team allotments, tickets are extremely limited. Advance sales are not expected. Individual session tickets will be available 1 hour prior to each session at the Student Rec Center Box Office, based on availability.
Prelims (Morning) – $10
Finals (Evening) – $15*
*because Wednesday is one session for the complete day, it will be $15.
Parking
Spectator parking will be in the West Campus parking garage. Hourly fees apply.
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.
