Kentucky Wins Two Silver Medals, One Bronze Medal in Fourth Day of League Championship
ATHENS, Ga. – Kentucky swimming and diving squashed a school record and earned three medals Friday in the conference championship in Athens, Georgia.
Seidt, who was selected as the 2019 Women’s Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the Southeastern Conference Friday, earned a silver medal in the 100 backstroke.
Former titleholder in the event, Seidt recorded a 51.32 in the preliminary round and a 51.16 in the final heat to earn a podium finish. The Louisville native won the event in 2018 by swimming a 50.86, which is the current school record.
The medal is her third of the week, after she helped the 800 freestyle relay team to a bronze finish on the opening night of the league meet. Seidt swam the second leg, helping UK to a new school record – 6:56.23 – which, is also an NCAA automatic cut.
Also winning a medal Friday was the women’s 400 medley relay. The troop earned a bronze medal by recording a 3:31.27, an NCAA automatic cut. Junior Ali Galyer swam the lead leg, followed by Bailey Bonnett, then Asia Seidt, while Geena Freriks sealed the deal. It is the second bronze medal the UK women have won on a relay this week.
Senior Courtney Clark also had her share of the podium. The Florida native won silver on platform with a 292.90. Clark, who is fifth on Kentucky’s top-10 all-time performance list, improved her career best by a smidge, .17. Clark’s finals score was her season best by nearly 20 points. The Wildcat recorded a 254.75 in the preliminary bout to become a finalist.
“I thought Courtney was great,” said head diving coach Ted Hautau. “She was steady, she shook off nerves in the beginning and was outstanding. She made improvements in her senior year, which are hard to make sometimes, so I’m really proud of her.”
Freshman Kyndal Knight also made the top eight to advance to finals. She finished fourth overall with a 253.80. Before that, Knight recorded a 278.00 in the preliminary round that is her career best.
The UK men also had a remarkable swim in the 400 medley relay, squashing another school record. The group of four posted a 1:09.56 to reset the school record. It marks the third school-record relay reset by the UK men this week. The charge was led by Josh Swart, then Wyatt Amdor, followed by David Dingess, and closed by Jason head.
In her conference debut, freshman Izzy Gati had a remarkable day in the 200 butterfly. Gati, a native of Arkansas, forced a 1:56.06 in the preliminary heat to set a new career low in the event and earn her first “A” final. Gati handled the pressure well when she improved her career best again by posting a 1:55.35 in finals to earn sixth overall.
Senior Haley McInerny found similar success by forcing a 1:56.05 in the preliminary round to find her first “A” final in her career. It also marked a new career best for the upperclassman. In her finals swim, McInerny finished seventh overall in the meet with a 1:56.09.
“It was a great evening for the Wildcats, especially highlighted by Asia Seidt winning SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year,” said head coach Lars Jorgensen. “What a great achievement. The divers were great. Courtney Clark almost got a championship in her senior year. I thought both programs swam really well and were consistent today. One big day left for the Wildcats and we’re excited about tomorrow.”
The meet will resume Saturday with the 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 1650 freestyle, 400 free relay and the men’s platform. Swimming preliminaries will begin at 10 a.m., diving preliminaries will start at 12:30 p.m., while the swimming and diving finals will commence at 6 p.m.
A full schedule of the championship is on Meet Central.
Spectators can enjoy two free options to keep up with the meet. Each day, SEC Network Plus will air preliminary and finals events, with the exception of preliminary bouts on Friday and Saturday. The programming is also available on the Watch ESPN app. A complete list of the TV programming schedule is on Meet Central.
Live results is also an available option.
This week, swimmers can compete in three individual races and four relays. For the swimming division, only the top 24 swimmers from the preliminary competition will advance to finals, for three heats of eight swimmers. Seed times decide lane assignments for the preliminary bout, while preliminary times decide lane assignments for finals.
For the diving division, only the top eight divers will advance to finals.
PARKING
Spectator may park in the East Campus Parking Deck, which is located in front of the Ramsey Center. The daily fee to park is $5.00 with in and out privileges.
TICKETS
All seats to the championship will be reserved. Tickets can be purchased by calling the UGA Ticket Office at (877) 542-1231. Ticket prices are as follows:
All-session pass (good for all sessions each day) $110 (adult) $50 (student)
Preliminary pass (good for one morning session) $10 (adult) $5 (student)
Finals pass (good for one evening session) $15 (adult) $10 (student)
CLEAR BAG POLICY
University of Georgia Athletics Association has adopted a clear bag policy for the safety of all in attendance. This will not apply to working with the need for bags and team personnel. Those bags may not be subject to search. All fans will be held to the clear bag policy. A complete list of prohibited items is available at GeorgiaDogs.com.
For the latest on the Kentucky swimming and diving program, follow @UKSwimDive on Twitter and on Instagram, on Facebook and on the web at UKathletics.com.
