Nine Swimmers Invited to 2019 NCAA Women’s Championships
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Nine swimmers will represent Kentucky in the 2019 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, announced by the committee Wednesday. The University of Texas at Austin will host the national meet March 20-23 at the Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin, Texas.
“It’s our championship meet, and this is the meet we’ve been focused on all year,” said head coach Lars Jorgensen. “We’re really excited to have our nine qualifiers and we’ll bring additional relay qualifiers to help our team, too.”
The nine Wildcats were invited by meeting established time standards by swimming in events throughout the season. The qualified members include freshmen Sophie Sorenson and Izzy Gati, sophomore Bailey Bonnett, juniors Madison Winstead, Ali Galyer and Asia Seidt, and seniors Haley McInerny, Paige Kelly and Geena Freriks. Four athletes earned two or more qualifying marks, making up 15 qualifying marks total across the nine swimmers.
The number matches the amount selected to compete in 2018, before alternate Kelly earned a ticket to become the tenth swimmer included in the party last season.
Kentucky will look to increase its traveling roster after the Zone C Diving Championships March 14-16 in Columbus, Ohio. Following the dive meet, invited divers will be announced Sunday, March 17.
The UK women have placed 14th in the national meet the last two years, scoring the most points in 2017 with 106. The club scored 97 points last season.
Six of the nine Wildcats who qualified for the championships were selected as competitors in the 2018 meet – Bonnett, Freriks, Galyer, Kelly, Seidt and Winstead. McInerny traveled as an alternate last year, while Gati and Sorenson are making their debuts as freshmen.
Kentucky’s NCAA qualifying times are as follows:
Bailey Bonnett
100 BR SCY 59.72
200 BR SCY 2:07.19
Geena Freriks
500 FR SCY 4:37.04
200 FR SCY 1:44.84
1650 FR SCY 16:05.96
Ali Galyer
200 FR SCY 1:44.88
200 BK SCY 1:50.39
Izzy Gati
200 FL SCY 1:55.35
Paige Kelly
1650 FR SCY 16:10.41
Haley McInerny
200 FL SCY 1:56.04
Asia Seidt
200 IM SCY 1:54.37
100 BK SCY 51.16
200 BK SCY 1:49.31
Sophie Sorenson
200 BK SCY 1:52.92
Madison Winstead
200 BR SCY 2:08.56
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.
