Four Wildcats Named NCAA All-Americans in First Day of NCAA Championships
AUSTIN, Texas – In the first day of the 2019 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, four University of Kentucky swimmers were named NCAA All-Americans in the 800 freestyle relay, the lone event in the first day of the national meet. Finishing 10th overall, the foursome reported a time stamp of 6:58.05.
Leading off was junior Ali Galyer with a split 1:44.51, then junior Asia Seidt with a split 1:43.40, followed by senior Haley McInerny with a split 1:45.80 and swimming anchor was senior Geena Freriks with a split of 1:44.34.
In the event, Galyer, McInerny and Seidt are now three-time NCAA All-Americans, while Freriks is a four-time NCAA All-American.
The field size consisted of 22 teams that earned eligibility for the 800 freestyle relay. UK earned the eighth seed, which put them in the final heat of three heats. Its seed time was recorded in the 2019 Southeastern Conference Championships when four Wildcats broke a school record and collected a bronze medal on a 6:56.23 time stamp. Galyer, Seidt, freshman Riley Gaines and Freriks set the record in the league meet.
It wasn’t the first time in the 2018-19 season the school record has been reset in the event. The same four Wildcats first broke the school record in November at the Ohio State Invitational.
In the swimming division, only the top 16 finishers from the preliminary round will move on to the finals round. In finals, the top eight finishers will earn a podium finish and are pegged as NCAA First-Team All-Americans. The next six through sixteen finishers are considered NCAA Honorable Mention All-Americans. It applies to individual and relay events.
The NCAA Championships will resume on Thursday, with the preliminary bouts beginning at 10 a.m. ET and the finals bouts beginning at 6 p.m. ET. A full schedule can be found here.
Fans are encouraged to refer to the Meet Central page for the most up to date information, including a pysch sheet, the schedule, live results, final results, broadcast information, and ticket and parking information.
ESPN will provide live linear coverage for both Friday and Saturday finals on ESPNU, as well as digital coverage on ESPN3 for Wednesday and Thursday evening finals. Events not streamed by ESPN will be available to watch here.
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.
