Kentucky Graces First Home Meet with Two Winning Performances
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky swimming and diving produced a couple of winning performances in its first home meet of the 2018-19 season. The men and women found success on Tuesday afternoon in Lancaster Aquatic Center, both scoring winning results versus Southeastern Conference foe LSU.
In runaway fashion, the men finished the 32-event stretch with 189 points, over the Tigers’ 109. The women’s troops kept fans on their feet in the second half, but worry not, for they incurred a comfortable-enough lead over the Lady Tigers finishing with a 12-point advantage, 156 points.
The afternoon display steered the men to a 2-1 record, while the women celebrated their first win of the season on Tuesday, moving to 1-2.
“It was a good win for both teams today,” said head coach Lars Jorgensen. “I thought the guys were really good. Peter Wetzlar was awesome in his victories. He spearheaded and almost broke 20 (seconds) on that last race, really a great job on his part. Glen Brown, Wyatt (Amdor) and Jason Head I think were really the leaders on that side. They did a great job. Chase Lane stepped up and scored some valuable points in diving as well.
On the women’s side, I’d say Meredith Whisenhunt was our big player today. She really brought home the victory for the Cats. Asia Seidt consistently performs well and she really stepped up on the 100 butterfly as well. I think that was a key component. We’ve got to be a lot better against Missouri and they’re a really good team so we look forward to being there next week in Columbia.”
Kentucky boasted a handful of standout athletes in the Tuesday dual with 17 victorious finishes – nine for the men and eight for the women. Of the 17 Wildcats, five earned more than one first-place finish – Bailey Bonnett, Glen Brown, Asia Seidt, Peter Wetzlar and Meredith Whisenhunt.
The men and women squads littered the results with 1-2-3 sweeps. The Kentucky men saw six sweeps in the 1000 free, 200 free, 200 fly, 100 free, 500 free and the 400 IM, while the women found similar success with two sweeps in the 1000 free and the 500 free.
Kentucky diving looked to build off its momentum produced in the season opener on Oct. 10 in Bloomington, Indiana, but LSU’s veterans took charge earning the winning score in each of the two disciplines for men and women. All the while, junior Chase Lane rallied for a second-place finish on the 1-meter dive and third on the 3-meter dive, allowing valuable points to the men’s team.
Junior Emma Dellmore shared bronze with senior Kailey Francetic on the 1-meter dive, both scoring 284.70, and senior Courtney Clark had her share in the top, taking third on the 3-meter dive with 309.00.
The program will wait nine days before its next appearance. The men and women will travel to Columbia, Missouri, to compete Nov. 1-2 versus No. 22/15 (M/W) Missouri, while the women will also face No. 23 Arkansas in a dual meet.
